This energetic, dedicated, and talented artist—the only living artist represented in our inventory—combines his zest for adventure and curiosity about the world to create sensitive and dramatic images of an astonishing range of wildlife subjects. His “portraits” of birds are especially intriguing, conveying intimate glimpses of truly wild creatures.

The watercolor portrait offered here is a meticulous rendering of a Crested Goshawk, a powerful bird found in India and southern China, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia. An inhabitant of the deep forest, the Crested Goshawk is one of the largest of its genus in the region, which aggressively takes its prey in a swift dash. Coheleach here captures the energy of the bird, isolating its muscular profile against a white background to better emphasize the details of its markings and demeanor.

Coheleach’s gift for capturing the character, motion, and life of his subjects is matched only by his thirst for adventure. A fellow of the prestigious Explorer's Club and the youngest member ever admitted to the Adventurer's Club of New York, he has been chased by elephants and has tracked eagles, lions, and rhinos all over the world.

Born in New York, Coheleach graduated from Cooper Union and received an honorary doctorate from William and Mary College. Along with more than 100 one-man shows around the world, Coheleach's work has also been exhibited in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the White House, the Corcoran Gallery, and the Royal Ontario Museum. He was the first western artist to exhibit in postwar Beijing. His work has been featured in Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post, National Wildlife, and Audubon magazines as well as in numerous regional art and wildlife magazines.

Overall, this is a fine watercolor bird portrait by one of the best-known and finest of contemporary natural history illustrators and painters in the world.