Vista Alegre Passenger Pigeons

This hand painted bisque sculpture of a pair of passenger pigeons painted by the Portuguese artist, Armando Pimentel (b.1930) of the Vista Alegre factory. The mating pair of birds are resting on a flowering branch, with the more colourfully-plumed male pigeon positioned above the female. Pimento's work was inspired by the work of John James Audubon's (1785-1851) hand-coloured etching and aquatint on paper of the Passenger Pigeon of 1829. Considered a masterpiece, which was published in the Havell edition of "The Birds of America"(1827-1836) . The wild passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) once endemic to North America in large numbers, became extinct in 1914 as a result of hunting and habitat destruction. The last known surviving Passenger Pigeon (named Martha) passed away on 1 September 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo and its body is on display at the Smithsonian Museum. This exquisite ceramic was gifted by the former Governor of Mozambique to Dr Hilgard Muller, the then South African Minister of Foreign Affairs whose collection is held at the University of Pretoria. Short Biography: Armando Oliveira Pimentel 17 January 1930 in Vagos, Portugal. His grandparents and parents both worked in the ceramic Vista Alegre Factory from paste preparation to painting. Pimentel joined Vista Alegre in 1942, at the young age of 12, first attending the Drawing Class with Mr. John Cazaux. His unusual artistic skills were soon recognised and he joined the painting workshop as an apprentice. At the age of 18, he was officially considered a minor apprentice in the 1st year of painting and began to work with the great Master Palmiro Peixe. In 1951, in recognition of his excellent qualities as a painter and as a guide for future painters led him to be chosen as supervisor of all the painters working for a large American client. Pimentel in 1970 first introduced the technique of painting on bisque (ceramic that has undergone the first firing before being glazed) that made possible an authentic artistic revolution in painting, due to the realism of the technique. From 1970 to 1999, all of Vista Alegre's series passed through Pimentel for approval of dedicated attention and the greatest commitment to the quality of their execution. Later Pimentel, under the service of Vista Alegre, at the German factory Hutschenreuther, in 1969, participated in a Design Congress in Sweden and Finland, and then in Versailles, Frankfurt and Hannover Fairs, where he gave live painting demonstrations also in London, Dallas, Boston, New York, Haway and Rio de Janeiro. He held exhibitions as a talented painted in Lisbon, at Póvoa de Varzim, Espinho and in Chiadoon. Armando Pimentel literally painted hundreds of Visa Alegre works and was considered their ambassador and master painter of all time. Pimentel passed away at age 90 in Portugal in January 2020.