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In this particular image, Audubon digressed from his pledge to record only live or freshly killed species of North American birds. The artist never observed a live Columbia jay, and this study was created not from a recently killed bird but from a taxidermy specimen. In the posthumous publication of Alexander Wilson’s American Ornithology Audubon discussed his rendering of the Columbia jay, "The specimen from which the drawings were taken, was presented to me by a friend who had received it from the Columbia River, and is the only individual…which I did not receive on the spot." [1] The secondhand origin of his study imparts a static quality to these jays, which is most apparent in their limp necks. The artist has used this to his advantage to reveal the bird’s unusual head, yet even Audubon struggled to breathe life into this jay. He attempted to allay the stiff quality of his specimen through the animation of the upper bird’s foot and the outstretched wing of its companion. Additionally, the bright blue of the birds’ wings and torsos and their pairing with a clearly identifiable and convincingly rendered vine work to enliven the scene.
The uncharacteristically lifeless quality of these jays is not the only departure from Audubon’s larger body of work. This particular bird, which Audubon identified as being from the Northwest Territory of the United States, is actually a species found only in the warmer climates of Central America.
Notes:
[1] Alexander Wilson, Charles Lucian Bonaparte, and William Jardine. American Ornithology, Or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States (London: Cassell Petter & Galpin, 1832), 289.
ProvenanceFrom 1980
Barbara B. Millhouse, purchased from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, NY on November 6, 1980. [1]
Notes:
[1] Memo to file, July 5, 1994.
Exhibition History1997
Walton Ford: The Legacy of Empire
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC (7/19/1997-9/30/1997)
2011-2012
Wonder & Enlightenment: Artist-Naturalists in the Early American South
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/13/2011- 2/20/2012)
Published ReferencesArcher, Philip R. and Martha R. Severens, "Artist-Naturalists in the Early American South" American Art Review Vol.XXIV, No.1 (2012)
DepartmentCollection of Barbara B. Millhouse
Columbia Jay
Artist(after)
John James Audubon
(1785 - 1851)
Date1830
Mediumhand colored engraving and aquatint on paper
DimensionsFrame: 46 1/4 x 33 3/4 in. (117.5 x 85.7 cm)
Image (visible): 37 x 24 1/2 in. (94 x 62.2 cm)
Paper: 38 x 25 1/4 in. (96.5 x 64.1 cm)
Signed<none>
Credit LineCourtesy of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightPublic domain
Object numberIL2003.1.3
DescriptionColumbia Jay, plate 96 from The Birds of America, is a superb example of the high quality print and color Robert Havell was able to achieve from John James Audubon’s original watercolors. The balanced composition portrays two male birds perched on a single branch entwined with poison ivy. The birds are positioned differently from one another to reveal unique aspects of their anatomy, and the unusual plumage of the birds is emphasized through an analogous downward position of each head. In this particular image, Audubon digressed from his pledge to record only live or freshly killed species of North American birds. The artist never observed a live Columbia jay, and this study was created not from a recently killed bird but from a taxidermy specimen. In the posthumous publication of Alexander Wilson’s American Ornithology Audubon discussed his rendering of the Columbia jay, "The specimen from which the drawings were taken, was presented to me by a friend who had received it from the Columbia River, and is the only individual…which I did not receive on the spot." [1] The secondhand origin of his study imparts a static quality to these jays, which is most apparent in their limp necks. The artist has used this to his advantage to reveal the bird’s unusual head, yet even Audubon struggled to breathe life into this jay. He attempted to allay the stiff quality of his specimen through the animation of the upper bird’s foot and the outstretched wing of its companion. Additionally, the bright blue of the birds’ wings and torsos and their pairing with a clearly identifiable and convincingly rendered vine work to enliven the scene.
The uncharacteristically lifeless quality of these jays is not the only departure from Audubon’s larger body of work. This particular bird, which Audubon identified as being from the Northwest Territory of the United States, is actually a species found only in the warmer climates of Central America.
Notes:
[1] Alexander Wilson, Charles Lucian Bonaparte, and William Jardine. American Ornithology, Or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States (London: Cassell Petter & Galpin, 1832), 289.
ProvenanceFrom 1980
Barbara B. Millhouse, purchased from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, NY on November 6, 1980. [1]
Notes:
[1] Memo to file, July 5, 1994.
Exhibition History1997
Walton Ford: The Legacy of Empire
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC (7/19/1997-9/30/1997)
2011-2012
Wonder & Enlightenment: Artist-Naturalists in the Early American South
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/13/2011- 2/20/2012)
Published ReferencesArcher, Philip R. and Martha R. Severens, "Artist-Naturalists in the Early American South" American Art Review Vol.XXIV, No.1 (2012)
Status
Not on view