Gordon Beningfield: Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Artist: Gordon Beningfield
1936 - 1998
Nationality: British
Artwork Year: 1980
Image Size: 6 by 7 inches
Overall Size: 11.5 by 12.5 inches
Medium: Water Color on Cold Press Illustration Board

In nearly every country of the world, there are Butterflies that take long flights during their relatively short lifespans. For Butterflies of the subtropic and temperate regions, these flights are often in the direction away from the equator in the spring and toward it in the autumn. The journeys may involve only a few hundred individuals or millions of butterflies massed together in a breathtakingly beautiful cloud of color. The instinct to keep flying in one direction is so strong that the tiny far-flying wanderers have been known to fly through railroad tunnels or into windows and out doors at the other end of the house just to keep going in a straight path.

The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly featured in the painting is a lovely insect that lives throughout Britain, Ireland, and as far north as the Orkney Islands. This Butterfly is known as an occasional migrant since it migrates from the continent only at certain times during the summer. On these journeys, the Small Tortoiseshell flies at night and is often attracted to lights such as house and street lamps. With its beautiful orange, black and blue markings this delightful migrant is one of the most beautiful Butterflies found in the Sceptered Isle.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the Great Britain 14P Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly stamp issue of May 13, 1981.

Artwork Copyright © 1980 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): Sold

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