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File:Space holder
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Artistspace holder
Year1882 (1882)
TypeEngraving
Dimensionsspace holder cm × space holder cm × space holder cm (space holder space holder × space holder space holder × space holder space holder); space holder space holder diameter
LocationParis
OwnerMusée Rodin

(Name of piece) is an engraving by naturalist and painter John James Audubon. It was printed full-size and is an early illustration of (animal name and wl) of birds of the United States. It was first published as part of a series in sections (date).

This specific engraving of the (bird name), like others in The Birds of America. consists of a hand-coloured engraving, made from copper engraved plates, measuring around 39 by 26 inches (99 by 66 cm). The same book includes images of six now-extinct birds.[1] Art historians describe the quality of Audubon's work as being of high and printed with "artistic finesse."[2] (The plant-life backgrounds of some 50 of the bird studies were painted by Audubon's assistant Joseph Mason but he is not credited for his work in the book.[3]) The piece was created by shooting the owls and then painting them after Audubon set them into poses. He then directed the production of the printing plates based upon his painting. Audubon included details on the bird itself in his Ornithological Biographies.[4][5] The snowy owl engraving was made by Robert Havell. The original prints were printed on J. Whatman watermarked paper.The border of the image is labeled “Snowy Owl (No. 25, Plate CXXI)” and “Strix Nyctea.” On the lower left is written “Drawn from Nature by J. J. Audubon F.R.S.F.L.S." "Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R.R.Havell, London" appears on the lower right.”[6]

Background publication history edit

About 1820, around the age of 35, Audubon declared his intention to paint every bird in North America.[7][4] In his bird art, he mainly forsook oil paint, the medium of serious artists of the day, in favour of watercolours and pastel crayons (and occasionally pencil, charcoal, chalk, gouache, and pen and ink). As early as 1807, he developed a method of using wires and threads to hold dead birds in lifelike poses while he drew them.[7]

In 1823, Audubon went to Philadelphia and New York, looking for financial support using subscriptionss to enable him to publish his artwork He sold the copper engraving plates through on a subscription basis in North America and Europe. Those subscribed obtained five plates at a time. Each subscriber received prints of three smaller prints, a larger bird and a mid-sized print. The prints were produced from 1827 to 1838 that cost each subscriber around $1,000.[4][8][9] It is thought that no more than 120 complete sets exist today. Each set consists of 435 individual plates that are based upon the original paintings. Each plate was engraved, printed, and hand colored, by Robert Havell of London. While William Lizars, of Edinburgh, engraved the first ten plates, Havell actually finished some of those.

Audubon often found support lacking.[7] As a result, in 1826, he set sail for the United Kingdom with 250 of his original illustrations, looking for the financial support of subscribers and the technical abilities of engravers and printers.[10] After exhibiting his drawings in Liverpool and Manchester, he journeyed to Edinburgh, where he met the accomplished engraver William H. Lizars. Lizars engraved up to ten of the first plates but was unable to continue the project when his colourists went on strike.[11][12] In 1827, Audubon engaged the noted London animal engraver Robert Havell Jr., and his father, Robert Havell Sr. Havell Jr. oversaw the project through to its completion in 1838.[12]

The original edition of Birds of America (sometimes called the Havell Edition[13] after its printer, and sometimes called the "Double Elephant Folio", because of its size) was printed on handmade paper 39.5 inches tall by 28.5 inches wide. The principal printing technique was copperplate etching, but engraving and aquatint were also used.[13] Colorists applied each color in assembly-line fashion (over fifty were hired for the work).[14]

Audubon funded the costly printing project through a pay-as-you-go subscription. From 1826 to 1829, he travelled around the UK and to Paris, lecturing on ornithology and frontier American life[15] in an effort to entice wealthy patrons to subscribe to the series of prints. Subscribers included the French king Charles X, the British queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Lord Spencer, and, later, the Americans Daniel Webster and Henry Clay.[15]

Prints were issued in sets of five every month or two in tin cases[16] and each set usually included one very large bird, one medium-sized bird, and three small birds.[15] The plates were published unbound and without any text to avoid having to furnish free copies to the public libraries in England.[11] It is estimated that not more than 200 complete sets were ever compiled.[13][15] An accompanying text, issued separately, was written by Audubon and the Scottish naturalist and ornithologist William MacGillivray[17] and published in five volumes in Edinburgh between 1831 and 1839, under the title Ornithological Biography, or, An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America.[11] The additional cost of the five volumes of text brought the total cost of plates and text to about $1000.[13]

After the folio edition was completed, Audubon decided to produce a more affordable edition and employed a lithographer from Philadelphia named J. T. Bowen. Bowen and his team created a smaller Royal Octavo edition, which was issued to subscribers in seven volumes and completed in 1844 after selling 1,199 sets.[citation needed] Five more octavo editions were completed through 1877. The octavo edition used the text of the Ornithological biography but increased the number of plates to 500, separating some birds which had originally appeared together. Some new drawings were included, mostly by John Woodhouse though Audubon and members of Bowen's team also contributed.[18][19]

The Bien Edition (after chromolithography pioneer Julius Bien), was a full-sized reissue published in 1858 by Roe Lockwood in New York under the supervision of Audubon's youngest son, John Woodhouse Audubon.[20] Due in part to the Civil War, the edition was never finished; only 15 parts of the 44 part series were completed. This edition consisted of 105 plates and included none of the original text.[21] Fewer than 100 subscriptions were sold, making this edition rarer than other early editions.[22] Audubon's practice of obtaining his subjects has been described as:“Audubon used what we like to call today as the barrel-of-the-shotgun method...After he killed the birds, he would use a complex system of wires and strings to position the birds. Previous artists would draw the birds in a stiff position, but Audubon was different. He drew the birds in dynamic ways, by positioning them how he would observe them in the field.”[2]

Public exhibitions edit

 
Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) in plate 3

A full 8-volume, double-elephant folio version is on public display in the Audubon Room at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. This, the first book purchased by the University, was bought in 1839 for $970 (equivalent to $90,000 in 2021), at the time an amazing sum. The entire volume of 425 plates is also available for viewing online at the University of Michigan's website.[23]

Since 1992, the Louisiana State University Libraries have hosted "Audubon Day," a semi-annual public showing of all four volumes of LSU's copy of the Birds of America. The set formerly belonged to one of the original subscribers, the Duke of Northumberland, and was purchased with a grant from the Crown Zellerbach Corporation in 1964. In recent years, the event has drawn more than 200 visitors. It was profiled in a 2011 Wall Street Journal article titled "The Joys of Slow Looking."[24]

In 2003, the University of Pittsburgh, which owns a complete collection of Birds of America that had been recently restored and preserved by the Etherington Conservation Center, mounted a major exhibition of 62 selected plates and other materials in its University Art Gallery. Following this, the university constructed an exhibit case on the ground floor of the school's Hillman Library to continuously display a rotating selection of plates to the public. Single plates have been exhibited for two weeks at a time in plate number order.[4] In 2007, the university undertook a project to digitize every plate from Birds of America, as well as Audubon's Ornithological Biography, and, for the first time, presented the complete set for public viewing through one site on the internet.[25][2][26] This event, called "Audubon day" was first conducted in 2011.[27][28]

In 2007 the book was the subject of an exhibition by the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, which owns a copy it ordered from the original subscription.[29] To commemorate the book's record-breaking sale, the museum decided to display its copy (for which the museum eventually paid 2200 guilders—a fortune at the time—during the years 1827–1838) until January 2011.[citation needed]

All of Audubon's and Mason's known extant watercolors preparatory for Birds of America are housed at the New-York Historical Society in New York City.[30]

Collections and archives edit

Though individual prints are commonly available, only one hundred twenty complete sets are known to exist.[31] One complete copy of the Birds of America exists as part of the The Darlington Collection.[32][31] Another complete collection is housed with Meisei University.[33] Birds of America is on permanent display in Trinity College's Watkinson Library, and was owned by the engraver, Robert Havell. It was donated to the College in 1900 by Gurdon Wadsworth Russell, an 1834 graduate of Trinity.[34]

 
This image is a detailed and enlarged image of Audubons engraving, Snowy Oil. The original piece is life-sized. This image shows the details of the etching of the owl's foot.TitleSnowy Owl. Plate CXXI (121)CreatorAudubon, John James, 1785-1851.ContributorHavell, Robert, 1793-1878.Date1831-1834Identifieraud0121DescriptionSnowy Owl, Strix nyctea. Linn, Male, I. Female, 2.J WHATMAN TURKEY MILL 1833Extent37.5 x 25.25Place of PublicationLondonTypestill imageSubjectBirds--North AmericaBirds--Pictorial worksSourceThe Birds of America, Vols. I-IV, 1827-1838Special Collections, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh.CollectionAudubon's Birds of AmericaDarlington Digital LibraryContributorUniversity of PittsburghRights Information
 
This image is a detailed and enlarged image of Audubons engraving, Snowy Oil. The original piece is life-sized. This image shows the details of the etching of the owl's feathers.TitleSnowy Owl. Plate CXXI (121)CreatorAudubon, John James, 1785-1851.ContributorHavell, Robert, 1793-1878.Date1831-1834Identifieraud0121DescriptionSnowy Owl, Strix nyctea. Linn, Male, I. Female, 2.J WHATMAN TURKEY MILL 1833Extent37.5 x 25.25Place of PublicationLondonTypestill imageSubjectBirds--North AmericaBirds--Pictorial worksSourceThe Birds of America, Vols. I-IV, 1827-1838Special Collections, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh.CollectionAudubon's Birds of AmericaDarlington Digital LibraryContributorUniversity of PittsburghRights Information

Recent sales edit

Gallery of the rest of the plates.

Textiles edit

 
Furnishing fabric, from Lancashire, 1830s

In 1830s, immediately after the publication, several plates were used as a basis for the design of a series of roller-printed furnishing fabric, produced in Lancashire, United Kingdom.[35]

References edit

  1. ^ Society, National Audubon. "Birds Extincted since Audubon's time". web4.audubon.org.
  2. ^ a b c Hoover, Bob (4 March 2008). "Audubon's 'Birds' now in flock on one Web site". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  3. ^ Burt, DeVere. "The Joseph Mason Project, Historic Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum". Ruthven.com website. Accessed Dec. 17, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d "Audubon at Pitt". University Library System, University of Pittsburgh. 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Audubon's Birds of America | Digital Pitt". digital2.library.pitt.edu. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  6. ^ "An Audubon Engraving Is on the Block | Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "Central Park's Winged Tenants, By Audubon". The New York Times. 26 December 2003.
  8. ^ This is equivalent to $24,600 in 2015
  9. ^ "1838 dollars in 2015 | Inflation Calculator". www.in2013dollars.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Audubon and men of influence".
  11. ^ a b c "The birds of America; from original drawings". Library of Congress. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Victoria Gallery & Museum - University of Liverpool". liv.ac.uk.
  13. ^ a b c d "Original Audubon Prints - Antique Natural History Prints - Books - Havell - Bien - Imperial Folio - Bird and Animal Prints". minniesland.com.
  14. ^ Rhodes, 2004, pp. 273, 389
  15. ^ a b c d "Rarae Aves: Audubon At Auction". The New York Times. 3 March 2000.
  16. ^ "Vibrant Birds Of America, Via Germany". The New York Times. 25 June 2004.
  17. ^ "William MacGillivray". nhm.ac.uk.
  18. ^ http://www.audubonhouse.org/audubon/octavo/bowen.cfm
  19. ^ "The Registry Of Nature Habitats - Audubon Birds of America - Publisher's Preface". abirdshome.com.
  20. ^ Flynn, Ron. "The Bien Edition / The Project, Quality, Errors and Market Value". Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Audubon Galleries Original Audubon Books and Prints". Audubongalleries.com. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  22. ^ Ron Flynn. "About Audubon and His Octavo Edition Prints". Auduboninfo.net. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  23. ^ "PictureIt Rare Book Reader". umich.edu.
  24. ^ Willard Spiegelman (19 May 2011). "Birds of America by John James Audubon at Hill Memorial Library at Louisiana State University-The Joys of Slow Looking-By Willard Spiegelman - WSJ". WSJ.
  25. ^ "Audubon's Birds of America". pitt.edu.
  26. ^ "Free Audubon Day includes prints, lectures". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  27. ^ "Pitt's University Library System Hosts Second Annual Audubon Day | University of Pittsburgh News". www.news.pitt.edu. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Birders flock to Audubon's art - The Pitt News". The Pitt News. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Teyler's 2007 exhibition website". Vogelsxxl.nl. 3 November 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  30. ^ "Original Audubon Prints - Antique Natural History Prints - Books - Havell - Bien - Imperial Folio - Bird and Animal Prints". minniesland.com.
  31. ^ a b "Audubon's Birds of America at the University of Pittsburgh". audubon.pitt.edu. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  32. ^ Pitz, Marylynne (16 November 2013). "Pitt exhibits Audubon prints". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Meisei University Birds Of America, Meisei University". birdsofamerica.meisei-u.ac.jp. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  34. ^ Webmaster. "Trinity College is Nest for Birders". www.trincoll.edu. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  35. ^ "Furnishing fabric, Lancashire, 1830s, Victoria and Albert Museum, CIRC.305-1956". Retrieved 23 February 2012.

Bibliography edit

  • Rhodes, Richard (2004). John James Audubon: The Making of an American. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-41412-6

External links edit

 
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