Rooster and Hens in the Barnyard 
William Baptiste Baird (U.S./France 1847-1917)
Oil on panel
Signed lower right "W. Baird"
12 1/4 x 9 inches 
 
A stunning example of William Baptiste Baird's most desirable painting of hens and roosters in the yard. 
 
Born in Chicago in 1847 and having perfected his considerable skills in Paris while studying at École des Beaux-Arts, Baird exhibited extensively at the Paris Salon from 1872 until 1899. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy in London from 1877 to 1899.
 
Baird lived and exhibited almost exclusively in France, living in the Latin Quarter of Paris and working at Pont Aven, the Cote d’Azur, Fontainebleau, Nice, Versailles, and Brittany. Baird also visited London, England and Lake Geneva, Switzerland. He is known for his paintings of the French countryside and farms with their farm animals, most notably chickens, cows and sheep, but his oeuvre also contains landscapes from the many places he traveled throughout Europe. 
 
Although most of his time was spent in France, Baird was a member of the National Academy of Design the Salmagundi Club in New York City. He exhibited at the Paris Salons (1872-1899); National Academy of Design (NYC, 1875, 1877, 1879); Noyes & Blakeslee (Boston, MA, 1877); Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA 1878, 1882, 1883); Brooklyn Art Association (NYC, 1879); Salmagundi Club (NYC, 1880-1881); Royal Academy (London, 1883); and in California (circa 1904). Baird was a member of the National Academy of Design, exhibiting there from 1875 to 1879, and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1878, 1882, and 1883.