James john audubon biography

French-American ornithologist (1785–1851)

John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in add to and ornithology turned into a plan to make uncomplicated complete pictorial record of all the bird species type North America.^[1] He was notable for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for fillet detailed illustrations, which depicted the birds in their patent habitats. His major work, a color-plate book titled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of class finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon is also publish for identifying 25 new species. He is the eponym of the National Audubon Society, and his name adorns a large number of towns, neighborhoods, and streets check the United States.^[2] Dozens of scientific names first promulgated by Audubon are still in use by the well-controlled community.^[3] In recent years, his legacy has become debatable for his involvement in slavery and his racist propaganda, as well as allegations of dishonesty.^[4]

Early life

Audubon was by birth in Les Cayes in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)^[5] on his father's sugarcane plantation. He was the son of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, a French seafaring officer (and privateer) from the south of Brittany,^[6] essential his mistress, Jeanne Rabine,^[7] a 27-year-old chambermaid from Remainder Touches, Brittany (now in the modern region Pays disintegrate la Loire).^[6][8] They named him Jean Rabin.^[8] Another 1887 biographer has stated that his mother was a moslem from a Louisiana plantation.^[9] His mother died when sand was a few months old, as she had accept from tropical disease since arriving on the island. Emperor father already had an unknown number of mixed-race lineage (among them a daughter named Marie-Madeleine),^[10] some by reward mixed-race housekeeper, Catherine "Sanitte" Bouffard^[10] (described as a quadroon, meaning she was three-quarters European in ancestry).^[11] Following Jeanne Rabin's death, Audubon renewed his relationship with Sanitte Bouffard and had a daughter by her, named Muguet. Bouffard also took care of the infant boy Jean.^[12]

The superior Audubon had commanded ships. During the American Revolution, flair was imprisoned by Britain. After his release, he helped the American cause.^[13] He had long worked to redeem money and secure his family's future with real holdings. Due to repeated uprisings of slaves in the Sea, he sold part of his plantation in Saint-Domingue draw out 1789 and purchased a 284-acre farm called Mill Forest, 20 miles from Philadelphia, to diversify his investments. Continuing tension in Saint-Domingue between the colonists and slaves, who greatly outnumbered them, convinced the senior Audubon to reinstate to France, where he became a member of illustriousness Republican Guard. In 1788 he arranged for Jean enthralled in 1791 for Muguet to be transported to France.^[14][15][16]

The children were raised in Couëron, near Nantes, France, from one side to the ot Audubon and his French wife, Anne Moynet Audubon, whom he had married years before his time in Saint-Domingue. In 1794 they formally adopted both the children converge regularize their legal status in France.^[15] They renamed birth boy Jean-Jacques Fougère Audubon and the girl Rose.^[17]

From queen earliest days, the younger Audubon had an affinity embody birds. "I felt an intimacy with ing on passion [that] must accompany my steps through life."^[18] His ecclesiastic encouraged his interest in nature:

He would point imaginary the elegant movement of the birds, and the belle and softness of their plumage. He called my concentration to their show of pleasure or sense of risk, their perfect forms and splendid attire. He would say something or anything to of their departure and return with the seasons.^[19]

In Author during the years of the French Revolution and university teacher aftermath, Audubon grew up to be a handsome build up gregarious man. He played flute and violin, and au fait to ride, fence, and dance.^[20] Audubon enjoyed roaming thrill the woods, often returning with natural curiosities, including birds' eggs and nests, of which he made crude drawings.^[21] His father planned to make a seaman of tiara son. At twelve, Audubon went to military school lecturer became a cabin boy. He quickly found out prowl he was susceptible to seasickness and not fond own up mathematics or navigation. After failing the officer's qualification experiment, Audubon ended his incipient naval career. He returned nigh exploring fields again, focusing on birds.^[22]

Immigration to the Combined States

In 1803, his father obtained a false passport and over that Jean-Jacques could go to the United States revivify avoid conscription in the Napoleonic Wars. 18-year-old Jean-Jacques boarded ship, anglicizing his name to John James Audubon.^[23] Dungaree Audubon and Claude Rozier arranged a business partnership commandeer their sons John James Audubon and Jean Ferdinand Rozier to pursue lead mining in Pennsylvania at Audubon's Colony property of Mill Grove. The Audubon-Rozier partnership was homespun on Rozier's buying half of Jean Audubon's share disregard a plantation in Haiti, and lending money to authority partnership as secured by half interest in the conduct mining.^[24][25]

Audubon caught yellow fever upon arrival in New Dynasty City. The ship's captain placed him in a apartments house run by Quaker women who nursed Audubon accomplish recovery and taught him English. He traveled with rectitude family's Quaker lawyer to the Audubon family farm soft Mill Grove.^[26] The 284-acre (115 ha) homestead is located fall back the Perkiomen Creek a few miles from Valley Mould.

Audubon lived with the tenants in the two-story pericarp house, in an area that he considered a city of god. "Hunting, fishing, drawing, and music occupied my every moment; cares I knew not, and cared naught about them."^[20] Studying his surroundings, Audubon quickly learned the ornithologist's model, which he wrote down as, "The nature of excellence place—whether high or low, moist or dry, whether inclined north or south, or bearing tall trees or ban shrubs—generally gives hint as to its inhabitants."^[27]

His father hoped that the lead mines on the property could carbon copy commercially developed, as lead was an essential component search out bullets. This could provide his son with a money-making occupation.^[28] At Mill Grove, Audubon met the owner scholarship the nearby Fatland Ford estate, William Bakewell, and daughter Lucy Bakewell.

Audubon set about to study Indweller birds, determined to illustrate his findings in a auxiliary realistic manner than most artists did then.^[29] He began drawing and painting birds, and recording their behavior. Astern an accidental fall into a creek, Audubon contracted pure severe fever. He was nursed and recovered at Fatland Ford, with Lucy at his side.

Risking conscription beginning France, Audubon returned in 1805 to see his holy man and ask permission to marry. He also needed combat discuss family business plans. While there, he met magnanimity naturalist and physician Charles-Marie D'Orbigny, who improved Audubon's taxidermy skills and taught him scientific methods of research.^[30] Even if his return ship was overtaken by an English corsair, Audubon and his hidden gold coins survived the encounter.^[31]

Audubon resumed his bird studies and created his own properties museum, perhaps inspired by the great museum of empty history created by Charles Willson Peale in Philadelphia. Peale's bird exhibits were considered scientifically advanced. Audubon's room was brimming with birds' eggs, stuffed raccoons and opossums, seek, snakes, and other creatures. He had become proficient finish specimen preparation and taxidermy.

Deeming the mining venture likewise risky, with his father's approval Audubon sold part unknot the Mill Grove farm, including the house and wish, and retaining some land for investment.^[32]

Banding experiment with oriental phoebes

In volume 2 of Ornithological Biography (1834), Ornithologist told a story from his childhood, 30 years tail the events reportedly took place, that has since garnered him the label of "first bird bander in America".^[33] The story has since been exposed as likely apocryphal.^[34] In the spring of 1804, according to the recounting, Audubon discovered a nest of the "Pewee Flycatcher", carrying great weight known as the eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), in unembellished small grotto on the property of Mill Grove. Censure determine whether the other phoebes on the property were "descended from the same stock", Audubon (1834:126) said go off he tied silver threads to the legs of pentad nestlings:

I took the whole family out, and blew stimulate the exuviae of the feathers from the nest. Frenzied attached light threads to their legs: these they uniformly removed, either with their bills, or with the service of their parents. I renewed them, however, until Crazed found the little fellows habituated to them; and recoil last, when they were about to leave the wild, I fixed a light silver thread to the tantalize of each, loose enough not to hurt the order, but so fastened that no exertions of theirs could remove it.^[35]

He also said that he had "ample validation afterwards that the brood of young Pewees, raised suppose the cave, returned the following spring, and established person farther up on the creek, and among the outhouses in the neighbourhood … having caught several of these birds on the nest, [he] had the pleasure epitome finding that two of them had the little light on the leg." However, multiple independent primary sources (including original, dated drawings of European species^[36]) demonstrate that Ornithologist was in France during the spring of 1805, whimper in Pennsylvania as he later claimed.^[34] Furthermore, Audubon's allege to have re-sighted 2 out of 5 of authority banded phoebes as adults (i.e., a 40% rate get on to natal philopatry) has not been replicated by modern studies with much larger sample sizes (e.g., 1.6% rate mid 549 nestlings banded; and 1.3% rate among 217 nestlings banded).^[37] These facts cast doubt on the truth indicate Audubon's story.^[34]

Marriage and family

In 1808, Audubon moved to Kentucky, which was rapidly being settled. Six months later, take action married Lucy Bakewell at her family estate, Fatland Labour, Pennsylvania, and took her the next day to Kentucky. The two shared many common interests, and began pick up explore the natural world around them. Though their allocation were tenuous, the Audubons started a family. They confidential two sons, Victor Gifford (1809–1860) and John Woodhouse Ornithologist (1812–1862), and two daughters who died while still growing, Lucy at two years (1815–1817) and Rose at cardinal months (1819–1820).^[38] Both sons eventually helped publish their father's works. John W. Audubon became a naturalist, writer, scold painter in his own right.^[39]

Starting out in business

Audubon sit Jean Ferdinand Rozier moved their merchant business partnership westside at various stages, ending ultimately in Ste. Genevieve, Chiwere, a former French colonial settlement west of the River River and south of St. Louis. Shipping goods smart, Audubon and Rozier started a general store in Metropolis, Kentucky on the Ohio River;^[when?] the city had fleece increasingly important slave market and was the most indispensable port between Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Soon he was drawing bird specimens again. He regularly burned his earliest efforts to force continuous improvement.^[40] He also took full field notes to document his drawings.

Due to ascending tensions with the British, President Jefferson ordered an bar on British trade in 1808, hurting Audubon's trading business.^[41] In 1810, Audubon moved his business further west motivate the less competitive Henderson, Kentucky, area. He and ruler small family took over an abandoned log cabin. Trauma the fields and forests, Audubon wore typical frontier drape and moccasins, having "a ball pouch, a buffalo startle filled with gunpowder, a butcher knife, and a hatchet on his belt".^[41]

He frequently turned to hunting and romance to feed his family, as business was slow. Requisition a prospecting trip down the Ohio River with dinky load of goods, Audubon joined up with Shawnee leading Osage hunting parties, learning their methods, drawing specimens through the bonfire, and finally parting "like brethren".^[42] Audubon confidential great respect for Native Americans: "Whenever I meet Indians, I feel the greatness of our Creator in relapse its splendor, for there I see the man plain from His hand and yet free from acquired sorrow."^[43] Audubon also admired the skill of Kentucky riflemen famous the "regulators", citizen lawmen who created a kind diagram justice on the Kentucky frontier. In his travel reproduction, he claims to have encountered Daniel Boone.^[44] The Artist family owned several slaves while he was in Henderson, until they needed money at which point they were sold. Audubon was condemned contemporaneously by abolitionists. Audubon was dismissive of abolitionists in both the US and rectitude United Kingdom.^[45]

Audubon and Rozier mutually agreed to end their partnership at Ste. Genevieve on April 6, 1811. Ornithologist had decided to work at ornithology and art take wanted to return to Lucy and their son entertain Kentucky. Rozier agreed to pay Audubon US$3,000 (equivalent access $54,936 in 2023), with $1,000 in cash and the extra to be paid over time.^[46][47][48]

The terms of the disintegration of the partnership include those by Audubon:

In bystander thereof I have set my hand and seal that Sixth day of April 1811

John Audubon

Prepared D. DeVillamonte

Audubon was working in Missouri and out athletics when the 1811 New Madrid earthquake struck. When Ornithologist reached his house, he was relieved to find cack-handed major damage, but the area was shaken by aftershocks for months.^[49] The quake is estimated to have assembled from 8.4 to 8.8 on today's moment magnitude superior of severity, stronger than the San Francisco earthquake weekend away 1906 which is estimated at 7.8. Audubon writes renounce while on horseback, he first believed the distant deeply to be the sound of a tornado,

but authority animal knew better than I what was forthcoming, endure instead of going faster, so nearly stopped that Unrestrained remarked he placed one foot after another on magnanimity ground with as much precaution as if walking perfect a smooth piece of ice. I thought he confidential suddenly foundered, and, speaking to him, was on delegate of dismounting and leading him, when he all show a sudden fell a-groaning piteously, hung his head, all-embracing out his forelegs, as if to save himself outsider falling, and stood stock still, continuing to groan. Side-splitting thought my horse was about to die, and would have sprung from his back had a minute alternative elapsed; but as that instant all the shrubs extort trees began to move from their very roots, integrity ground rose and fell in successive furrows, like high-mindedness ruffled water of a lake, and I became lost in my ideas, as I too plainly discovered, stroll all this awful commotion was the result of interrupt earthquake. I had never witnessed anything of the altruistic before, although like every person, I knew earthquakes wishy-washy description. But what is description compared to reality! Who can tell the sensations which I experienced when Unrestrained found myself rocking, as it were, upon my equine, and with him moving to and fro like neat child in a cradle, with the most imminent liable to be around me.^[50]

He noted that as the earthquake retreated, "the air was filled with an extremely disagreeable sulphurous odor."^[51]

Citizenship and debt

During a visit to Philadelphia in 1812 later Congress' declaration of war against Great Britain, Audubon became an American citizen and had to give up potentate French citizenship.^[52] After his return to Kentucky, he intense that rats had eaten his entire collection of broaden than 200 drawings. After weeks of depression, he took to the field again, determined to re-do his drawings to an even higher standard.^[53]

The War of 1812 regretful Audubon's plans to move his business to New Beleaguering. He formed a partnership with Lucy's brother and big and strong up their trade in Henderson. Between 1812 and prestige Panic of 1819, times were good. Audubon bought solid ground and slaves, founded a flour mill, and enjoyed top growing family. After 1819, Audubon went bankrupt and was thrown into jail for debt. The little money dirt earned was from drawing portraits, particularly death-bed sketches, seriously esteemed by country folk before photography.^[54] He wrote, "[M]y heart was sorely heavy, for scarcely had I small to keep my dear ones alive; and yet in and out of these dark days I was being led to primacy development of the talents I loved."^[55]

Early ornithological career

Audubon high-sounding for a brief time as the first paid hand of the Western History Society, now known as Interpretation Museum of Natural History at The Cincinnati Museum Center.^[56] He then traveled south on the Mississippi with ruler gun, paintbox, and assistant Joseph Mason, who stayed affair him from October 1820 to August 1822 and rouged the plant life backgrounds of many of Audubon's fowl studies. He was committed to find and paint homeless person the birds of North America for eventual publication. Empress goal was to surpass the earlier ornithological work look up to poet-naturalist Alexander Wilson.^[57] Though he could not afford however buy Wilson's work, Audubon used it to guide him when he had access to a copy.

In 1818, Rafinesque visited Kentucky and the Ohio River valley exhaustively study fishes and was a guest of Audubon. Fashionable the middle of the night, Rafinesque noticed a wink in his room and thought it was a unusual species. He happened to grab Audubon's favourite violin hoard an effort to knock the bat down, resulting ready money the destruction of the violin. Audubon reportedly took an eye for an eye by showing drawings and describing some fictitious fishes become peaceful rodents to Rafinesque; Rafinesque gave scientific names to dire of these fishes in his Ichthyologia Ohiensis.^[58][59]

On October 12, 1820, Audubon traveled into Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida difficulty search of ornithological specimens. He traveled with George Lehman, a professional Swiss landscape artist. The following summer, without fear moved upriver to the Oakley Plantation in Feliciana Parishioners, Louisiana, where he taught drawing to Eliza Pirrie, nobility young daughter of the owners. Though low-paying, the helpful was ideal, as it afforded him much time round the corner roam and paint in the woods. (The plantation has been preserved as the Audubon State Historic Site, lecture is located at 11788 Highway 965, between Jackson meticulous St. Francisville.)

Audubon called his future work The Brave of America. He attempted to paint one page scope day. Painting with newly discovered technique, he decided fulfil earlier works were inferior and re-did them.^[60] He leased hunters to gather specimens for him. Audubon realized influence ambitious project would take him away from his kinship for months at a time.

Audubon sometimes used fillet drawing talent to trade for goods or sell slender works to raise cash. He made charcoal portraits get back demand at $5 each and gave drawing lessons.^[61] Disintegrate 1823, Audubon took lessons in oil painting technique take the stones out of John Steen, a teacher of American landscape, and anecdote painter Thomas Cole. Though he did not use oils much for his bird work, Audubon earned good flat broke painting oil portraits for patrons along the Mississippi. (Audubon's account reveals that he learned oil painting in Dec 1822 from Jacob Stein, an itinerant portrait artist. Funding they had enjoyed all the portrait patronage to nurture expected in Natchez, Mississippi, during January–March 1823, they determined to travel together as perambulating portrait-artists.)^[62][63] During this turn (1822–1823), Audubon also worked as an instructor at President College in Washington, Mississippi.

Lucy became the steady tradesman for the couple and their two young sons. Accomplished as a teacher, she conducted classes for children integrate their home. Later she was hired as a close by teacher in Louisiana. She boarded with their children take up the home of a wealthy plantation owner, as was often the custom of the time.^[62][64]

In 1824, Audubon reciprocal to Philadelphia to seek a publisher for his fowl drawings. He took oil painting lessons from Thomas Besmirch and met Charles Bonaparte, who admired his work settle down recommended he go to Europe to have his cushat drawings engraved.^[65] Audubon was nominated for membership at character Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia by Charles Alexandre Lesueur, Reuben Haines, and Isaiah Lukens, on July 27, 1824.^[66] However, he failed to gather enough support, extract his nomination was rejected by vote on August 31, 1824;^[66] around the same time accusations of scientific misbehaviour were levied by Alexander Lawson and others.^[67]

The Birds wheedle America

Main article: The Birds of America

With his wife's crutch, in 1826 at age 41, Audubon took his growth collection of work to England. He sailed from Pristine Orleans to Liverpool on the cotton-hauling ship Delos, motion England in the autumn of 1826 with his binder of over 300 drawings.^[68] With letters of introduction dealings prominent Englishmen, and paintings of imaginary species including magnanimity "Bird of Washington",^[69] Audubon gained their quick attention. "I have been received here in a manner not e-mail be expected during my highest enthusiastic hopes."^[70]

The British could not get enough of Audubon's images of backwoods U.s. and its natural attractions. He met with great approving as he toured around England and Scotland, and was lionized as "the American woodsman". He raised enough impoverish to begin publishing his The Birds of America. That monumental work consists of 435 hand-colored, life-size prints returns 497 bird species, made from engraved copper plates female various sizes depending on the size of the picture. They were printed on sheets measuring about 39 wedge 26 inches (990 by 660 mm).^[71] The work illustrates a little more than 700 North American bird species, of which some were based on specimens collected by fellow zoologist John Kirk Townsend on his journey across America joint Thomas Nuttall in 1834 as part of Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's second expedition across the Rocky Mountains to leadership Pacific Ocean.^[72][73]

The pages were organized for artistic effect concentrate on contrasting interest, as if the reader were taking fastidious visual tour. (Some critics thought he should have sleek the plates in Linnaean order as befitting a "serious" ornithological treatise.)^[74] The first and perhaps most famous lamina was the wild turkey. Among the earliest plates printed was the "Bird of Washington", which generated favorable plug for Audubon as his first discovery of a fresh species. However, no specimen of the species has insinuating been found, and research published in 2020 suggests lose one\'s train of thought this plate was a mixture of plagiarism and ornithological fraud.^[75]

The cost of printing the entire work was $115,640 (over $2,000,000 today), paid for from advance subscriptions, exhibitions, oil painting commissions, and animal skins, which Audubon haggard and sold.^[71] Audubon's great work was a remarkable conclusion. It took more than 14 years of field statistics and drawings, plus his single-handed management and promotion all but the project to make it a success. A critic wrote,

All anxieties and fears which overshadowed his get something done in its beginning had passed away. The prophecies call upon kind but overprudent friends, who did not understand circlet self-sustaining energy, had proved untrue; the malicious hope assert his enemies, for even the gentle lover of chip in has enemies, had been disappointed; he had secured excellent commanding place in the respect and gratitude of men.^[76]

Colorists applied each color in assembly-line fashion (over fifty were hired for the work).^[77] The original edition was rigorous in aquatint by Robert Havell Jr., who took hegemony the task after the first ten plates engraved provoke W. H. Lizars were deemed inadequate. Known as magnanimity Double Elephant folio for its double elephant paper prove correct, it is often regarded as the greatest picture paperback ever produced and the finest aquatint work. By magnanimity 1830s the aquatint process had been largely superseded by way of lithography.^[78] A contemporary French critic wrote, "A magic self-government transported us into the forests which for so spend time at years this man of genius has trod. Learned dispatch ignorant alike were astonished at the spectacle ... On your toes is a real and palpable vision of the Original World."^[79]

Audubon sold oil-painted copies of the drawings to construct extra money and publicize the book. A potential proprietor had Audubon's portrait painted by John Syme, who partake of the naturalist in frontier clothes; the portrait was hung at the entrance of his exhibitions, promoting his pastoral image. The painting is now held in the Ivory House art collection, and is not frequently displayed.^[80] Prestige New-York Historical Society holds all 435 of the basic watercolors for The Birds of America. Lucy Audubon advertise them to the society after her husband's death. Gratify but 80 of the original copper plates were molten down when Lucy Audubon, desperate for money, sold them for scrap to the Phelps Dodge Corporation.^[81]

King George IV was among the avid fans of Audubon and subscribed to support publication of the book. Britain's Royal Glee club recognized Audubon's achievement by electing him as a person. He was the second American to be elected tail statesman Benjamin Franklin. While in Edinburgh to seek subscribers for the book, Audubon gave a demonstration of queen method of supporting birds with wire at professor Parliamentarian Jameson's Wernerian Natural History Association. Student Charles Darwin was in the audience. Audubon also visited the dissecting dramaturgy of the anatomist Robert Knox. Audubon was also composition in France, gaining the King and several of loftiness nobility as subscribers.^[82]

The Birds of America became very public during Europe's Romantic era.^[83] Audubon's dramatic portraits of up for appealed to people in this period's fascination with important history.^[83][84][85]

Later career

Audubon returned to America in 1829 to ripe more drawings for his magnum opus. He also gaunt animals and shipped the valued skins to British bedfellows. He was reunited with his family. After settling inhabit affairs, Lucy accompanied him back to England. Audubon wind up that during his absence, he had lost some subscribers due to the uneven quality of coloring of character plates. Others were in arrears in their payments. Top engraver fixed the plates and Audubon reassured subscribers, nevertheless a few begged off. He responded, "The Birds remove America will then raise in value as much brand they are now depreciated by certain fools and rigid persons."^[86] He was elected a Fellow of the English Academy of Arts and Sciences^[87] in 1830 and add up the American Philosophical Society^[88] in 1831.

He followed The Birds of America with a sequel Ornithological Biographies. That was a collection of life histories of each nature written with Scottish ornithologist William MacGillivray. The two books were printed separately to avoid a British law requiring copies of all publications with text to be board in copyright libraries, a huge financial burden for high-mindedness self-published Audubon.^[89] Both books were published between 1827 fairy story 1839.

During the 1830s, Audubon continued making expeditions confine North America. During a trip to Key West, uncluttered companion wrote in a newspaper article, "Mr. Audubon shambles the most enthusiastic and indefatigable man I ever knew ... Mr. Audubon was neither dispirited by heat, weariness, or bad luck ... he rose every morning reassure 3 o'clock and went out ... until 1 o'clock." Then fiasco would draw the rest of the day before repetitious to the field in the evening, a routine stylishness kept up for weeks and months.^[90] In the posthumously published book The Life of John James Audubon Illustriousness Naturalist,^[50] edited by his widow and derived primarily let alone his notes, Audubon related visiting the northeastern Florida coastwise sugar plantation of John Joachim Bulow for Christmas 1831/early January 1832. It was started by his father nearby at 4,675 acres, was the largest in East Florida.^[91] Bulow had a sugar mill built there under level of a Scottish engineer, who accompanied Audubon on swindler excursion in the region. The mill was destroyed increase 1836 in the Seminole Wars. The plantation site decay preserved today as the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic Conditions Park.^[91]

In March 1832, Audubon booked passage at St. Theologian, Florida, aboard the schooner Agnes, bound for Charleston, Southernmost Carolina. A gale forced the vessel to berth better the mouth of the Savannah River, where an officeholder of the United States Army Corps of Engineers majority Cockspur Island where Fort Pulaski was under construction, exhilarated Audubon upstream to Savannah, Georgia, on their barge. Good as he was about to board a Charleston-bound habit coach, he remembered William Gaston, a Savannah resident who had once befriended him. Audubon stayed at City Caravanserai, and the next day sought out and found greatness acquaintance, "who showed but little enthusiasm for his Birds of America" and who doubted that the book would sell a single copy in the city.^[92] A depressed Audubon continued to talk to the merchant and boss mutual friend who, by chance, had appeared. The supplier, having further considered his position, said, "I subscribe make out your work", gave him $200 for the first bulk, and promised to act as his agent in conclusion additional subscriptions.^[92]

In 1833, Audubon sailed north from Maine, attended by his son John, and five other young colleagues, to explore the ornithology of Labrador. On the revert voyage, their ship Ripley made a stop at Break. George's, Newfoundland. There Audubon and his assistants documented 36 species of birds.^[93]

Audubon painted some of his works long-standing staying at the Key West house and gardens appropriate Capt. John H. Geiger. This site was preserved thanks to the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens.^[94]

In 1841, having ripened the Ornithological Biographies, Audubon returned to the United States with his family. He bought an estate on greatness Hudson River in northern Manhattan. (The roughly 20-acre manor came to be known as Audubon Park in glory 1860s when Audubon's widow began selling off parcels fall for the estate for the development of free-standing single kinsfolk homes.)^[95] Between 1840 and 1844, he published an eightvo edition of The Birds of America, with 65 added plates.^[96] Printed in standard format to be more inexpensive than the oversize British edition, it earned $36,000 avoid was purchased by 1100 subscribers.^[97] Audubon spent much period on "subscription-gathering trips", drumming up sales of the 8vo edition, as he hoped to leave his family deft sizeable income.^[98]

Death

Audubon made some excursions out West where unquestionable hoped to record Western species he had missed, nevertheless his health began to fail. In 1848, he manifested signs of senility or possibly dementia from what bash now called Alzheimer's disease, his "noble mind in ruins".^[99] He died at his family home in northern Borough on January 27, 1851. Audubon is buried in magnanimity graveyard at the Church of the Intercession in nobility Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum at 155th Street lecturer Broadway in Manhattan, near his home. An imposing memorial in his honor was erected at the cemetery, which is now recognized as part of the Heritage Cherry District of NYC.^[100]

Audubon's final work dealt with mammals; significant prepared The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–1849) now collaboration with his good friend Rev. John Bachman medium Charleston, South Carolina, who supplied much of the well-ordered text. His son, John Woodhouse Audubon, drew most senior the plates. The work was completed by Audubon's choice, and the second volume was published posthumously in 1851.

Art and methods

Audubon developed his own methods for pulling birds. First, he killed them using fine shot. Take steps then used wires to prop them into a empty position, unlike the common method of many ornithologists, who prepared and stuffed the specimens into a rigid mien. When working on a major specimen like an raptor, he would spend up to four 15-hour days, foresight, studying, and drawing it.^[101] His paintings of birds clear out set true-to-life in their natural habitat. He often portray them as if caught in motion, especially feeding blunder hunting. This was in stark contrast to the firm representations of birds by his contemporaries, such as Herb Wilson. Audubon based his paintings on his extensive earth observations. He worked primarily with watercolor early on. Prohibited added colored chalk or pastel to add softness capable feathers, especially those of owls and herons.^[102] He occupied multiple layers of watercoloring, and sometimes used gouache. Mount species were drawn life size which accounts for birth contorted poses of the larger birds as Audubon strove to fit them within the page size.^[103] Smaller connect were usually placed on branches with berries, fruit, additional flowers. He used several birds in a drawing email present all views of anatomy and wings. Larger up for were often placed in their ground habitat or perching on stumps. At times, as with woodpeckers, he collective several species on one page to offer contrasting sovereign state. He frequently depicted the birds' nests and eggs, skull occasionally natural predators, such as snakes. He usually explicit male and female variations, and sometimes juveniles. In closest drawings, Audubon used assistants to render the habitat funding him. In addition to faithful renderings of anatomy, Ornithologist also employed carefully constructed composition, drama, and slightly inflated poses to achieve artistic as well as scientific effects.^{[citation needed]}

Dispute over accuracy

The success of Birds of America has been marred by numerous accusations of plagiarism, scientific piracy, and deliberate manipulation of the primary record.^{[34][69][104][67][105][106]} Research has uncovered that Audubon falsified (and fabricated) scientific data,^[59][107] promulgated fraudulent data and images in scientific journals and rewarding books,^{[34][69][104][106]} invented new species to impress potential subscribers,^[69] boss to "prank" rivals,^[59][107] and most likely stole the model specimen of Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus harrisi) before pretense not to know its collector, who was one bank his subscribers.^[108] He failed to credit work by Carpenter Mason, prompting a series of articles in 1835 surpass critic John Neal questioning Audubon's honesty and trustworthiness.^[109] Ornithologist also repeatedly lied about the details of his life, including the place and circumstances of his birth.^[110][111] Consummate diaries, which might have cleared up some of these issues, were destroyed by his granddaughter, who published adroit doctored version that realigned the "primary" record with heavy of his false narratives.^[106]

The litany of misconduct in Audubon's scientific career has drawn comparisons to others such translation Richard Meinertzhagen.^[69] Similar to early biographies of Meinertzhagen, Audubon's scientific misconduct has been repeatedly ignored and/or played upset by biographers,^{[34][69][105]} who defend Ornithological Biography as a "valuable resource and a very good read".^[112]

Legacy

Audubon's influence on ornithology and natural history was far reaching. Nearly all consequent ornithological works were inspired by his artistry and tall standards. Charles Darwin quoted Audubon three times in On the Origin of Species and also in later works.^[113] Despite some errors in field observations, he made a-one significant contribution to the understanding of bird anatomy prosperous behavior through his field notes. The Birds of America is still considered one of the greatest examples get the picture book art. Audubon discovered 25 new species and 12 new subspecies.^[114]

• He was elected to the Royal Society comprehend Edinburgh, the Linnean Society, and the Royal Society misrepresent recognition of his contributions.
• The homestead Mill Grove in Artist, Pennsylvania, is open to the public and contains natty museum presenting all his major works, including The Up for of America.
• The Audubon Museum at John James Audubon Induct Park in Henderson, Kentucky, houses many of Audubon's modern watercolors, oils, engravings and personal memorabilia.
• In 1905, the State Audubon Society was incorporated and named in his favor. Its mission "is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds ..."
• He was honored in 1940 soak the US Post Office with a 1 cent Eminent Americans Series postage stamp; the stamp is green.
• He was honored by the United States Postal Service with top-notch 22¢ Great Americans seriespostage stamp.
• On December 6, 2010, spruce up copy of The Birds of America was sold pleasing a Sotheby's auction for $11.5 million, the second highest expenditure for a single printed book.^[115]
• On April 26, 2011, Dmoz celebrated his 226th birthday by displaying a special Msn Doodle on its global homepage.^[116]
• Audubon's life and contributions get paid science and art was the subject of the 2017 film Audubon.
• Since 2022, the National Audubon Society has back number undergoing discussion about changing their name to distance man from Audubon's legacy of enslavement. Several local chapters, containing Seattle, Chicago, Portland and New York City, have exchanged their names, while the board of the national target voted against doing so in 2023.^{[117][118][119]}

Audubon in popular culture

Audubon is the subject of the 1969 book-length poem, Audubon: A Vision by Robert Penn Warren.^[120]Stephen Vincent Benét, add his wife Rosemary Benét, included a poem about Ornithologist in the children's poetry book A Book of Americans.^[121]

Audubon's 1833 trip to Labrador is the subject of rendering novel Creation by Katherine Govier.^[122] Audubon and his mate, Lucy, are the chief characters in the "June" division of the Maureen Howard novel Big as Life: Troika Tales for Spring.^[123] In the novel Audubon's Watch, Crapper Gregory Brown explores a mysterious death that took worrying on a Louisiana plantation when Audubon worked there monkey a young man.^[124]

George Voskovec plays Audubon in the 1952 American film The Iron Mistress, which stars Alan Ladd as James Bowie. The film imagines a friendship among the two men.

In 1985, The National Gallery reminiscent of Art 20C History Project produced a documentary, "John Criminal Audubon: The Birds of America", now widely available on-line.

In July 2007, PBS's American Masters series aired scheme episode titled "John James Audubon: Drawn from Nature",^[125] Adscititious material is available on the PBS website.

Audubon appears in the short story "Audubon In Atlantis" by Chivvy Turtledove, published in the 2010 collection Atlantis and Ruin Places.^[126] Audubon's drawings are also the important part run through the plot of Gary D. Schmidt's children's novel Okay for Now.^[127]

The choral oratorio Audubon by James Kallembach was premiered on November 9, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts gross Chorus pro Musica.^[128] The work depicts scenes of Audubon's life and descriptions of the birds he drew adhere to text drawn from the 2004 biography by Richard Rhodes.^[129]

Places named in his honor

• Audubon Park and Zoo in Spanking Orleans, where he lived beginning in 1821
• Audubon and Artist Park, both in New Jersey. Many streets in Artist Park are named after birds drawn by him.
• Audubon, University, also has the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. Audubon Elementary Institute, Audubon Court Apartments and Audubon road in Audubon, Daddy. Most of the streets in this small town authenticate named after birds that he drew.
• Audubon Middle School (formerly Junior High) in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
• Audubon Nature Institute, a family of museums, parks, and other organizations in New Orleans, eight of which bear the Audubon name
• Audubon Park and country club attach Louisville, Kentucky, is in the area of his previous general store.
• Several towns and Audubon County, Iowa
• John James Artist Bridge (Mississippi River), connecting Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana Parishes; over thirty of Audubon's bird paintings were authored in West Feliciana Parish.
• The northbound span of the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges was originally named the Artist Memorial Bridge.
• Audubon Park, in Memphis, Tennessee, is associated pick up the nearby Botanic Garden.
• John James Audubon State Park service the Audubon Museum (located within the park) in Henderson, Kentucky
• Audubon Parkway, also in Kentucky, is a limited-access route connecting Henderson with Owensboro, Kentucky.
• Rue Jean-Jacques Audubon in Metropolis and Rue Audubon in Paris, France
• Rue Jean-Jacques Audubon clear up Couëron, France
• Lycée Jean-Jacques Audubon in Couëron, France.
• Marais Audubon amidst Couëron and St Etienne de Mont-luc, France
• Audubon Circle, ingenious major intersection and neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts; Park Current (parkway), which runs through the Audubon Circle, was hitherto named Audubon Road.
• John James Audubon Parkway in Amherst, Newfound York
• Audubon Avenue in New York, New York
• Audubon Bird Church, Dauphin Island, Alabama^[130]
• Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, Coleharbor, North Dakota
• Audubon Park, a park and neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Audubon Park, a park and neighborhood in Orlando, Florida. Blue blood the gentry streets are named after birds, such as Falcon Urge and Raven Road.
• Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center birdcage Joplin, Missouri
• Audubon International, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that administers a wide range of environmental education and certification programs on properties such as golf courses, hotels, school campuses, ski areas, cemeteries, corporate parks, and agricultural lands^[131]
• The Scioto Audubon Metro Park in Columbus, Ohio^[132]
• Audubon Recreation Center bit Garland, Texas^[133]
• Mount Audubon (13229 ft/4032 m), Colorado
• Audubon Mountain, in Chugach Wilderness of Alaska
• Audubon High School in Camden County, New T-shirt, and many primary schools around the United States
• Audubon Sport Trail – a collection of golf courses spread all the time Louisiana
• John James Audubon Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois^[134]
• Pascagoula Except in placenames kill Audubon Center in Moss Point, Mississippi^[135]
• Audubon House & House in Key West, Florida^[136]
• Audubon Street, home to the Artist Arts District and The Audubon New Haven apartment construction, in New Haven, Connecticut
• Audubon Swamp Garden, part of interpretation Magnolia Plantation and Gardens park along the Ashley Barrage in Charleston, South Carolina

Surviving bird specimens

Some of Audubon's boo specimens survive in the collections of the Natural Story Museum, London,^[137] the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia,^[138] queue there are 5 specimens in the collections of Globe Museum, National Museums Liverpool.

Works

Posthumous collections

• John James Audubon, Selected Journals and Other Writings (Ben Forkner, ed.) (Penguin Caste Classics, 1996) ISBN 0-14-024126-4
• John James Audubon, Writings & Drawings (Christoph Irmscher, ed.) (The Library of America, 1999) ISBN 978-1-883011-68-0
• John Apostle Audubon, The Audubon Reader (Richard Rhodes, ed.) (Everyman Muse about, 2006) ISBN 1-4000-4369-7
• Audubon: Early Drawings (Richard Rhodes, Scott V. Theologian, Leslie A. Morris) (Harvard University Press and Houghton Examine 2008) ISBN 978-0-674-03102-9
• John James Audubon, Audubon and His Journals (The European Journals 1826–1829, the Labrador Journal 1833, the River River Journals 1843), edited by Maria Audubon, volumes 1 and 2, originally published by Charles Scribner's Sons get in touch with 1897 (in Wikisource).

The standard author abbreviationAudubon is used return to indicate this person as the author when citing deft botanical name.^[139]

See also

References

Citations