A self-taught painter and ornithologist, John James Audubon is best known for his collection of life-size bird portraits titled Birds of America. His life and prodigious work reveal astonishing diligence, creativity, and accomplishment.
Audubon was born on April 26, 1785, in Santo Domingo (now Haiti), but his family fled the revolution there and settled down in Nantes, France, where he spent his childhood and youth until the age of 18. He married Lucy Bakewell, the daughter of a well-to-do English merchant family, and they moved to the frontier town of Henderson, Kentucky. They opened a group of general stores and became very wealthy but went bankrupt in the Panic of 1819.
An avid lover of birds, which he called the "feathered tribes," Audubon came up with an ambitious plan to paint all 435 of the bird species of America in life size. He plunged into the wilderness to find his subjects' feeding preferences, calls and songs, courtship rituals, and other traits. His paintings showed the birds' typical behavior in their natural habitats. Traveling mostly on foot, he eventually painted all the then-known birds from the Florida Keys to the straits of Newfoundland to the swamps of Louisiana and Texas to the mountains of Montana and the Dakotas. His project involved long separations from his wife, including trips to England to work with an engraver for Birds of America.
At the same time, he was recording his wilderness experiences in his five-volume ornithological biography. As he became a celebrity in the expanding nation, he undertook two new publications: a reduced-size version of Birds of America and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, two volumes of hand-colored lithographs based on watercolors by him and his son John Woodhouse Audubon, accompanied by text written by amateur naturalist John Bachman.
Audubon died in 1851 at age 65. His name remains synonymous with bird conservation all over the world.
To Name This Day . . .
Quotes
In the midst of everyday realities, it's not always easy to see where life is heading. Audubon began his quest to document America's birds after he'd been jailed for bankruptcy and felt unsure about his prospects. Let these quotes from his writings remind you of the value of your most essential life's work, regardless of any setbacks you face.
"As I grew up, I was fervently desirous of becoming acquainted with nature."
"I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could."
"I can scarcely manage to scribble a tolerable English letter. I know that I am not a scholar, but meantime I am aware that no man living knows better than I do the habits of our birds."
Spiritual Practice
The Audubon Society offers a fascinating selection of images from Audubon's Birds of America. Scroll through a few and choose one that captures you attention. Take time to gaze at it with receptive mind and heart; there is no right or wrong way of seeing. What do you see that moves or amazes you?