John James Audubon – Bird Artist

A Founder of American Ornithology Who Depicted Birds in Art

Nov 14, 2009

John James Audubon was a nineteenth century American with multiple talents. His greatest achievement was his book of bird artwork: Birds of America.

The famous American ornithologist, John James Audubon (1785-1851), was an ardent sportsman and naturalist. His great love for the outdoors, especially birds, began at an early age and influenced everything he did.

The Early Life of John James Audubon

There are many accounts of the early years of Audubon, and disagreement about even the most basic facts: Ken Chowder writes that Audubon’s “life seems invented rather than lived.” Some biographers state that he was born in Mandeville, Louisiana (Burroughs), the son of Lieutenant Jean Audubon and his French/Spanish Creole wife Jeanne Rabin. Others (Chowder, audubon.org) place his birth in Saint-Domingue (present day Haiti), on a sugar plantation owned by his father. In most accounts Rabin was his father’s mistress.

All accounts agree that Audubon’s mother died when he was very young, perhaps only a few months old. A slave uprising in Saint-Domingue may account for her death. The violence also drove the surviving Audubons off the island back to the safety of New Orleans, after which the senior Audubon took the child to France to be raised by his step-mother Anne Moynet Audubon.

The uncertainty about John James Audubon’s origins is at least in part due to the fact that he was vague about the facts himself, embellished many of his life stories, and may have deliberately concealed his illegitimate birth.

Though highly intelligent, Audubon was too entranced by the natural world to apply himself at school, and his father eventually removed him from his step-mother’s care (he thought her too indulgent) and ultimately sent him back to America to occupy a family house near Philadelphia. Audubon was in his late teens when he made the move. He spent another two years in France around 1805, but returned across the Atlantic again, apparently to avoid being conscripted into Napoleon’s forces.

Audubon married and set up business as a shopkeeper, but once again, he failed to focus on the books and spent too much time exploring the country. His business failed, he went bankrupt, and over the following years worked as a portrait artist, a taxidermist, an art teacher, a dance teacher, and a tutor. All the time, Audubon traveled around America drawing pictures of birds and making notes about their habits, habitat, and movements. He was the first in North America to try banding birds, by tying string around their legs (audubon.org), and he amassed a collection of thousands of pieces of bird artwork.

Audubon’s Birds of America

John James Audubon made a few attempts to have his bird illustrations published in America, but he was unsuccessful, so in 1826, he took them across the Atlantic to England. Welcomed into high social circles there, he found both his bird artwork and his stories of adventure in wilderness America well received.

Publication followed, with Birds of America containing 435 life-sized prints of American birds. Like birding guides that came later, Birds of America showed the birds in various plumages, but also often depicted accurate details of their habitat and diet. Audubon’s dramatic illustrations of American birds remain some of the most accurate drawings we have of them today.

Later, Audubon published a natural history of American birds, Ornithological Biographies, with co-author William MacGillivray. He continued to travel with pen and artist’s supplies, painting birds from life, and even moved on to illustrating mammals in later years.

Though he is best remembered for Birds of America, Audubon had a lasting effect on many aspects of American life. Given the numerous times he turned to other types of artwork to generate income, there must be many pieces of his work scattered across the United States, their origins perhaps forgotten.

John James Audubon died in New York in 1851. Today, the environmental organization Audubon bears his name.

Sources

“John James Audubon: Drawn From Nature.” Chowder, Ken. American Masters. pbs.org

The copyright of the article John James Audubon – Bird Artist in Birds is owned by Rosemary Drisdelle. Permission to republish John James Audubon – Bird Artist in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.