William S. Rice added hand coloring to brighten the composition of this large color woodcut, which was done around 1925. A dynamic, color-saturated piece that injects elegance to the lively subjects.
The white Sulfer Crested Cockatoo and colorful Scarlet Macaw were neighbors of the artist, William S. Rice. His daughter, Roberta Treseder, recalled that the macaw was named Lolita and she lived next door while the cockatoo lived around the block. Rice would frequently visit the birds to make sketches of each of them, and for this piece he combined his two feathered friends in one image. Lolita sits on her ring perch as the cockatoo watches on from the other side of a bowl filled with pears, oranges, and grapes. Both birds eye the "forbidden fruit" on the table as Lolita prepares to enjoy some grapes - or perhaps she is offering some to her visitor in a humorous reference to the tale of Adam and Eve.