Hamish Mackie — 'Woodcock in Flight', Bronze, 3/25

Hamish Mackie (born 1973) has firmly established himself as one of the foremost British wildlife sculptors of his generation, bringing to his subjects a deep understanding of animal form, movement, and the natural world. 'Woodcock in Flight' is a tour de force of the bronzesmith's art, capturing the characteristic low, twisting flight of this most elusive of game birds with extraordinary fidelity and dynamism.

Cast in bronze from an edition of twenty-five, this is example number three — an early casting from the edition, and therefore among the finest in terms of surface detail and quality of patination. The piece is signed, dated 2007, and inscribed with the edition number in the artist's hand. At 19 inches (approximately 48 centimetres) in height, it has the scale and presence to work as a major decorative statement on a plinth, a mantlepiece, or a low table.

Mackie's bronzes command serious prices at auction and in the primary market, and early edition pieces of this quality represent a sound as well as beautiful acquisition. An essential work for the serious collector of British wildlife art.