John James Audubon

Both a talented artist and dedicated naturalist, John James Audubon (1785 –1851) devoted his life to documenting the diverse bird and animal species of North America. His life’s work culminated in two major publications, The Birds of America and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. The 435 engraved plates of the former remain the most comprehensive illustrated study of North American ornithological species and it is celebrated as a masterpiece of American art. Through diligence and hard work, Audubon successfully crossed the boundary between scientific naturalist and expressive artist. His studies were often made from live or freshly killed specimens, imparting a spirited quality to the resulting illustrations. It is this melding of science and art that has secured Audubon’s position as one of the most recognized and beloved of American artists.

Audubon, the son of a French sea captain, was born April 26, 1785, in San Domingo, now part of Haiti, but spent most of his childhood in Nantes, France, where he displayed a precocious interest in drawing and collecting birds. In 1803, his father sent him to manage Mill Grove, an estate near Philadelphia, where he met and later married Lucy Bakewell. They had two sons, Victor Gifford (1809–1860) and John Woodhouse (1812–1862), who would later assist their father in his work. Struggling to support his family, Audubon opened general stores along the Kentucky frontier, taught drawing, and painted portraits, while his wife conducted a school. Ultimately, in 1819, he fell into bankruptcy and was jailed for his debts, after which he resolved to dedicate himself solely to the study of birds. He traveled extensively, enduring many deprivations in order to observe live birds in their natural habitat. Often killing them along the way, he devised a unique method for mounting newly killed specimens with wires and hooks which allowed him to capture animated poses. He explained his goal: “My plan was to form sketches in my mind’s eye, each representing each family in their most constant and natural associations, and to complete those family pictures as chance might bring perfect specimens.” [1]

Although he had studied briefly with Jacques-Louis David in Paris, Audubon was primarily a self-taught artist. He quickly transcended earlier ornithologists such as Mark Catesby and Alexander Wilson whose work by comparison appears lifeless. Audubon produced pencil and pastel sketches and watercolors for The Birds of America. Audubon’s sons and other artists participated by providing backgrounds. Unable to find an accomplished printer in this country, Audubon turned to the scientific community in Europe for help in producing his masterwork. Traveling to London in 1827, Audubon finally found the man who would bring his dream to fruition, the printmaker Robert Havell, Jr. In a letter to his wife Lucy, Audubon expressed his delight: “I have made arrangements with a Mr. Havell, an excellent engraver, who has a good establishment containing printers, colorers and engravers so that I can have all under my eye when I am here in London.” [2] Under the artist’s supervision, Havell created the copper plates for the two hundred large- format engravings, printed them, and arranged for them to be individually hand colored.

Published between 1827 and 1838, The Birds of America was sold by subscription in Europe and the United States. Two of the original watercolors are presumed lost but the rest are in the collection of the New York Historical Society. Audubon died in 1851, just three years after the publication of his second major work The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.

Audubon kept detailed journals both scientific and personal in nature, which reveal his multifaceted personality. He was devoted to ornithological study and accurate lifelike depictions, but also possessed a predilection for fun; he was an avid dancer and hunter and in his autobiography acknowledges his weakness for fine clothes and other indulgences. This joie de vivre permeates the work of Audubon, elevating it from static scientific illustration into the realm of fine art.

Notes:

[1] Audubon quoted in George Dock, Jr. Audubon’s Birds of America (New York: Galahad Books, 1977), 3.

[2] Audubon quoted in John James Audubon and Christoph Irmscher. John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings (New York: Library of America, 1999), 807.