Turning Heads: Audubon’s Mature Style

Alan C. Braddock

Robert Havell after John James Audubon, Carolina Parakeet, 1832, detailHand-colored engraving, 33 ¼ x 23 ½ in., from The Birds of America, pl. 26

John James Audubon, Le Traquet de Buffon (European Stonechat), 1806Pastel, graphite, and ink on paper, 24 x 31 cm., Houghton Library, Harvard University

Lawson after Wilson, Mississippi Kite (and other birds), from American Ornithology (1808-14), pl. 25

Havell after Audubon, Mississippi Kite, 1832Hand-colored engraving, 25 ¾ x 20 ¾ in., from The Birds of America, pl. 117

Lawson after Alexander Wilson, Carolina Parrot, from American Ornithology (1808-14), pl. 26

Havell after Audubon, Carolina Parakeet, 1832Hand-colored engraving, 33 ¼ x 23 ½ in., from The Birds of America, pl. 26

Lawson after Alexander Wilson, Carolina Parrot, from American Ornithology (1808-14), pl. 26

Havell after Audubon, Carolina Parakeet, 1832Hand-colored engraving, 33 ¼ x 23 ½ in., from The Birds of America, pl. 26

John James Audubon, Barn Owl, 1833Hand-colored engraving, 37 ½ x 25 in., from The Birds of America, pl. 171

John James Audubon, Barn Owl, 1833Watercolor, graphite on paper, 37 ½ x 25 in.,

New-York Historical Society

Thomas Cole, View from Mt. Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836

Oil on canvas, 51 ½ x 76 in., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John James Audubon, Barn Owl, 1833Watercolor, graphite on paper, 37 ½ x 25 in.,

New-York Historical Society

Thomas Cole, View from Mt. Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836

Oil on canvas, 51 ½ x 76 in., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John James Audubon, Golden Eagle, 1833Watercolor, graphite on paper, 38 x 25 ½ in.,

New-York Historical Society

Thomas Cole, View from Mt. Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836

Oil on canvas, 51 ½ x 76 in., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John James Audubon, Golden Eagle, 1833Watercolor, pastel, graphite, and glazing on paper, 38 x 25 ½ in.,

New-York Historical Society

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1800Oil on canvas, 102 x 87 in., Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison

John James Audubon, Black Vulture, 1829Pastel, watercolor, graphite, collage on paper, 23 3/8 x 36 1/8 in., New-York Historical Society

Théodore Géricault, Severed Heads, 1818Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm., Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

John James Audubon, Black Vulture, 1829Pastel, watercolor, graphite, collage on paper, 23 3/8 x 36 1/8 in.,

New-York Historical Society

The Execution of King Louis XVI, January 21, 1793

Théodore Géricault, Severed Heads, 1818Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm., Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

John James Audubon, White-headed Eagle, 1828Hand-colored engraving, 37 x 25 ¼ in., from The Birds of America, plate 31

John James Audubon, Golden Eagle, 1833Watercolor, pastel, graphite, and glazing on paper, 38 x 25 ½ in.,

New-York Historical Society

John James Audubon, Golden Eagle, 1833Watercolor, pastel, graphite, and glazing on paper, 38 x 25 ½ in.,

New-York Historical Society

John James Audubon, Self-Portrait, 1826Pencil on paper, private collection, London

John James Audubon, Self-Portrait, 1826Pencil on paper, private collection, London

C.N. Cochin, Benjamin Franklin, 1777Engraving

John James Audubon, Self-Portrait, 1826Pencil on paper, private collection, London

John Gadsby Chapman, Col. David Crockett, 1835Oil on canvas, Alamo Museum, San Antonio, TX

George Caleb Bingham,Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap, 1851-52

Oil on canvas, 36 ½ x 50 ¼ in., Washington University Art Gallery, St. Louis

John James Audubon, Self-Portrait, 1826Pencil on paper, private collection, London

George Catlin, “The Author Painting a Chief at the Base of the Rocky Mountains,” frontispiece to

Catlin, Letters and Notes, 1841

John James Audubon, Self-Portrait, 1826Pencil on paper, private collection, London

George Catlin, Catlin and His Indian Guide Approaching Buffalo under White Wolf Skins, 1848Oil on canvas, 20 x 27 ¼ in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

George Catlin, Catlin and His Indian Guide Approaching Buffalo under White Wolf Skins, 1848Oil on canvas, 20 x 27 ¼ in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

George Catlin, Dying Buffalo, Shot with an Arrow, 1832-33Oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

John Syme, John James Audubon, 1826Oil on canvas, 35 x 27 in., White House Collection, Washington, D.C.

William Fisk, George Catlin, 1849Oil on canvas, 62 x 52 in., National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

John Syme, John James Audubon, 1826Oil on canvas, 35 x 27 in., White House Collection, Washington, D.C.

John James Audubon, Self-Portrait, 1826Pencil and charcoal on paper, 5 5/8 x 4 ¼ in.,

Collection of Richard Rathbone, Green Bank, Liverpool, UK

G. P. A. Healy, John James Audubon, 1838Oil on canvas, 35 x 27 in., Museum of Science, Boston

Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse Audubon, John James Audubon, 1841Oil on canvas, 44 x 60 in., American Museum of Natural History, New York

John W. Audubon, John James Audubon, 1843Oil on canvas, 45 x 35 in., American Museum of Natural History, N. Y.

Mathew Brady, John James Audubon, c.1847-48Daguerreotype, 4 ¼ x 3 ½ in., Cincinnati Art Museum

Audubon memorabilia (hat, parfleched, gun, pistol, war club, pipe/tomahawk, axe)American Museum of Natural History, New York