Horned Grebe

Object Details

Description (Brief): Robert Havell Jr.'s 1835 engraving for John James Audubon's publication the Birds of America, was published in Britain between 1827 and 1838 as a series of large folio engravings. The Museum's Graphic Arts Collection includes seven of the original copper plates and prints from several editions of the work.; The Birds of America was published in several formats. The first large folio edition was intended for wealthy patrons or institutions. Later editions, produced in the United States for a more general audience, included text and smaller, less costly lithographic illustrations.; Audubon introduced new species and new artistic forms. His dramatic images of birds, pictured life-size in animated poses with realistic backgrounds, represented a departure from the conventions of natural history illustration. His artistic ingenuity, as reproduced in engravings and lithographs, won new audiences for the subject of nature study, eventually leading to the organization of Audubon societies.
Location: Currently not on view

1835

Related Publication: Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History; National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History exhibition website
Related Web Publication: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/treasures-american-history

See more items in: Work and Industry: Graphic Arts; Natural Resources; National Treasures exhibit; Art

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-f820-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa