Audubon Birds on Display at MOHAI
On my recent visit to MOHAI, I viewed the feature exhibit of engravings of John James Audubon from “The Birds of America.” This major exhibit of Audubon’s work features 60 original hand-colored engravings, along with letters, photographs, and personal artifacts.
Most of us have heard the name Audubon in connection with the society named after him. He was probably one of our very first environmentalists, recognizing the need and importance of conservation. His love of nature was documented in his life-sized engravings, originally of birds, and gradually expanding to include other animals.
Audubon was born in Haiti, and came to the United States at the age of 18, thanks to a false passport that his father obtained for him. Around that same time he began studying natural history, conducting the first known bird-banding. He tied yarn to the legs of birds, determining that they returned to the same area to nest each year.
He also began drawing and painting birds, paying great attention to the detail of each specie. In order to do this, he would first shoot the birds, using buckshot that was designed not to damage the carcasses. He would then reassemble them, staging them in lifelike positions. The detail in his paintings reflect the up close view he had of the birds. It sounds a pretty drastic way to get models, and at odds with his conservationist attitude, but I guess the ends justified the means.
Audubon gathered his collections of paintings, looking to get them published. He was unsuccessful here in the U.S., and eventually took them to England. There, they were highly successful, and raised enough money to publish “Birds of America,” a collection of 435 prints,and to support the Audubon family.
Unfortunately, a downturn in fortune left the family penniless. After Audubon’s death, his wife was forced to sell off all his original work in order to survive. She nonetheless died in poverty.
Location: Museum of History & Industry, McCurdy Park, 2700 24th Avenue East, Seattle (Montlake)
Dates & Hours: The Audubon exhibit runs through January 8th, 2007. Museum hours are 10 am - 5 pm, daily. First Thursday 10 am - 8 pm. Closes at 3 pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Admission: $7 adults; $5 seniors (62+) and youth (ages 5 - 17); Children under age 5 admitted Free. First Thursdays FREE.
Parking: Free in museum parking lot.
Photo credit: personal collection
 Amazon.com: Audubon’s Birds Of America (The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio)ISBN: 0789208148ISBN-13: 9780789208149 |
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4 opinions for Audubon Birds on Display at MOHAI
Douglas Karr
Nov 13, 2007 at 6:14 am
I just read a brief on James Audobon and it was fascinating. He wasn’t a trained artist and he used extremely large pieces of paper so he could get finer detail in his drawings. It was more of an obsession than art or science.
The paintings were sold in very expensive subscriptions, among the subscribers was the Queen of England.
Mary Jo
Nov 15, 2007 at 9:26 pm
The reason that he went to England originally was that they were so expensive that he didn’t make any sales here at home. What a shame. He was clearly welcomed abroad.
Carnival of Cities: Food Edition
Nov 19, 2007 at 12:09 am
[…] like a museum. Well great news the Seattle Traveler knows the perfect place. How about the “Audubon Birds of Display at MOHAI.” In this post you will find an interesting discretion of the art show as well as helpful […]
b5media - A Cornucopia of Travel & Culture Information
Nov 22, 2007 at 3:24 am
[…] finally, The Seattle Traveler takes us to the Museum of History and Industry and Audubon Birds on Display, a major exhibit of the works of early environmentalist, John James […]
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