John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He is noted for his then ground breaking effort to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted birds in their natural habitats. His most notable and best work was the color-plate book, The Birds of America (1827-1839). It is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. It was comprised of 435 hand-colored engravings and first published in the double elephant folio size (26 x 39 inches). Audubon sought to capture the natural movments of animals, highlighting their everyday behaviors rather than the fixed representations of specimens, absent of any environment, often found in many published books of the day. Audubon's artistic style and scientifically curious mind would inspire many others, like Louis Agassiz Fuertes and George Miksch Sutton to use art for science.
Audubon Gallery
