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Works by John James Audubon

114 works · 275 ms
Portrait of John James Audubon

John James Audubon set out to paint every bird species in North America at life size, often caught feeding or hunting; most works below are plates from a smaller, cheaper edition of his Birds of America.

Audubon killed his birds with fine shot and wired them into natural attitudes instead of stuffing them stiff, usually setting small species on branches with flowers or berries. The first edition, life-size on double-elephant sheets and coloured by hand, was engraved in aquatint, all but its first ten plates, by Robert Havell Jr..

A smaller octavo edition came out between 1840 and 1844, with 65 plates the first lacked. At the foot of its plates one line says the bird was drawn from nature by Audubon, another that J. T. Bowen of Philadelphia printed and coloured the lithograph. A plate of summer redbirds sets a red male, a yellow female and a young male among muscadine grapes. On plate 251 three hummingbirds hover and perch among orange and yellow trumpet flowers. Large birds had to bend to fit, since he drew every species life-size, and the whooping crane of plate 313 stoops low over two tiny alligators.

He also painted in oil, though seldom for his birds. Osprey and Weakfish, an oil of 1829, beats its wings above flat water with a speckled fish in its talons. Washington Sea Eagle, of about 1836–39, sets a brown eagle on a sea cliff: the Bird of Washington, which he announced as a new species, though research from 2020 argues his plate of it mixed plagiarism with fraud.

Sources: Wikipedia, Smithsonian Institution, Biodiversity Heritage Library, contributed by Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, National Gallery of Art. Portrait: John Syme.

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Washington Sea Eagle
Washington Sea Eagle
John James Audubon, ca. 1836-1839
Pl. 111 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 111 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 82 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 82 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 88 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 88 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 80 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 80 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 95 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 95 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 68 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 68 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 204 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 204 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 219 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 219 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 244 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 244 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Osprey and Weakfish
Osprey and Weakfish
John James Audubon, 1829
Pl. 210 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 210 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 85 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 85 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 156 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 156 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 71 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 71 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 181 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 181 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 238 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 238 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 274 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 274 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 224 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 224 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 132 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 132 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 46 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 46 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 285 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
Pl. 285 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Ferragunous Thrush
Ferragunous Thrush
John James Audubon
Pl. 499 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
Pl. 499 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
John James Audubon, 1844
Pl. 208 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 208 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 488 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
Pl. 488 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
John James Audubon, 1844
Pl. 278 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 278 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 223 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 223 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 229 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 229 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 184 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 184 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 369 — The birds of America, v.6 (1843)
Pl. 369 — The birds of America, v.6 (1843)
John James Audubon, 1843
Pl. 72 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 72 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 86 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 86 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Goshawk, Stanley Hawk (No. 29)
Goshawk, Stanley Hawk (No. 29)
John James Audubon, 1830
Pl. 108 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 108 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 201 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 201 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Arctic Hare
Arctic Hare
John James Audubon, c. 1841
Pl. 76 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 76 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 45 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 45 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 48 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 48 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 196 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 196 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 7 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 7 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 93 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 93 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Red Shouldered Hawk (No. 12)
Red Shouldered Hawk (No. 12)
John James Audubon, 1829
Pl. 154 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 154 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 97 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 97 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 252 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 252 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 251 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 251 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 313 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
Pl. 313 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 91 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 91 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 90 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 90 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 142 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 142 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 96 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 96 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 203 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 203 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 476 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
Pl. 476 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
John James Audubon, 1844
Pl. 169 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 169 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 199 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 199 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 92 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 92 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 273 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 273 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 198 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 198 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)
Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)
John James Audubon, c. 1827
Pl. 87 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 87 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 153 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 153 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 361 — The birds of America, v.6 (1843)
Pl. 361 — The birds of America, v.6 (1843)
John James Audubon, 1843
Pl. 287 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
Pl. 287 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 253 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 253 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 220 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 220 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 218 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 218 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 231 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 231 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 171 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 171 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 415 — The birds of America, v.6 (1843)
Pl. 415 — The birds of America, v.6 (1843)
John James Audubon, 1843
Pl. 256 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 256 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 83 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 83 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 79 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 79 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 106 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 106 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 209 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 209 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 213 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 213 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 436 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
Pl. 436 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
John James Audubon, 1844
Pl. 22 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 22 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 206 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
Pl. 206 — The birds of America, v.3 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 73 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 73 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 5 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 5 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 215 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 215 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 233 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 233 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 217 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 217 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 247 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 247 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 43 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 43 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 40 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 40 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 490 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
Pl. 490 — The birds of America, v.7 (1844)
John James Audubon, 1844
Pl. 286 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
Pl. 286 — The birds of America, v.5 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
English Black Cocks
English Black Cocks
John James Audubon, 1828
Pl. 254 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 254 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
Pl. 129 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
Pl. 129 — The birds of America, v.2 (1841)
John James Audubon, 1841
Pl. 36 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 36 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 34 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
Pl. 34 — The birds of America, v.1 (1840)
John James Audubon, 1840
Pl. 270 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
Pl. 270 — The birds of America, v.4 (1842)
John James Audubon, 1842
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