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Robert Verity Clem(1933-2010)Harlequin Ducks
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Jelena James
Senior Specialist, Head of Sale

Claire Dettelbach
Cataloguer

Jewel Bernier
Cataloguer
Robert Verity Clem (1933-2010)
signed and dated 'Robert Verity Clem / 1972' (lower right)
watercolor on paper
sight size 19 x 28 3/4 in. (48.3 x 73.0 cm)
Executed in 1972.
Footnotes
Provenance
Kelley Auctions, Holbrook, Massachusetts.
The present private collection (acquired from the previous, 2007).
N.B.
Robert Verity Clem was one of the foremost bird artists in America. A self-taught native of Hamden, Connecticut, Clem perfected his precise and sensitive depictions of birds through the thorough study of the renderings of the renowned Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Seeking to present the birds in the context of their native habitats, Clem learned techniques from observing the murals and background paintings at the Peabody Museum of Yale University. The result is an artist who combined art and science into striking depictions that have earned him a devoted following. His artworks are in private collections and museums, including over 30 examples in the Museum of American Bird Art at the Mass Audubon campus in Canton, Massachusetts.
In 1955 Clem received a commission that would shape his career. An invitation came from the industrialist Julius Fleishmann to paint birds in his aviary in Naples, Florida. Later, Clem collaborated with author Peter Matthiessen to create paintings for his book The Shorebirds of North America, published in 1967, which became the classic text on the subject. Clem remained particularly interested in shorebirds and raptors, studying them closely during the 50 years that he lived in the Cape Cod community of Chatham, Massachusetts.
























