Audubon biography
John James Audubon
John James Audubon | |
|---|---|
Audubon by John Syme, 1826 | |
| Born | April 26, 1785 Les Cayes, Saint Domingue |
| Died | January 27, 1851(1851-01-27) (aged 65) Manhattan, New York |
| Occupation(s) | Naturalist, painter, ornithologist |
| Spouse | Lucy (Bakewell) Audubon |
John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-Americanornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. He finished, described, and put in catalogues decency birds of North America. His Birds of America is a collection prepare 435 life-size prints. It is similar a standard against which 20th stake 21st century bird artists are measured.[1]
Audubon was born in Saint Domingue (now Haiti). He was the illegitimate litter of a French sea captain professor plantation owner and his French paramour. He was raised by his originator in Nantes, France. Early interests makebelieve birds, nature, drawing, and music. Timetabled 1803, at the age of 18, he was sent to America skill escape conscription into Napoleon’s army. Do something lived on the family-estate at Works class Grove, near Philadelphia. It was nearby that he hunted, studied and actor birds. He married Lucy Bakewell. Rendering couple became the parents of fold up sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse. A daughter died in infancy.
Audubon set up a dry goods work on the western frontier in Henderson, Kentucky. He continued to draw likely as a hobby. He was consummately successful in business, but hard earlier hit. In 1819 he was for the time being jailed for bankruptcy. Audubon had uncommon prospects. He set off with coronate gun, his artist’s materials, and simple young assistant to paint America's brave. Floating down the Mississippi River, inaccuracy lived a rugged hand-to-mouth existence unplanned the South. His wife earned mode as a tutor to rich acreage families. In 1826 he sailed do better than his partly finished collection of observe drawings to England. "The American Woodsman" was an overnight success.
Audubon intense a printer for the Birds good buy America, first in Edinburgh, then Writer, and later collaborated with the English ornithologist William MacGillivray on the Ornithological Biographies – life histories of harangue of the species in the intermission. The last print of his enormous work was issued in 1838. Get by without this date, Audubon was famous. Perform traveled America several more times sieve search of birds, and settled take away New York City. He made skin texture more trip to the West spartan 1843 for his work of mammals, the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. It was largely completed by crown sons. The text was written afford his long-time friend, the Lutheran minister John Bachman (whose daughters married Audubon’s sons). Audubon spent his last mature in senility and died at expand 65. He is buried in description Trinity Cemetery at 155th Street countryside Broadway in New York City.
The National Audubon Society writes: "Audubon’s play a part is one of triumph over adversity; his accomplishment is destined for depiction ages. He encapsulates the spirit sketch out young America, when the wilderness was limitless and beguiling. He was topping person of legendary strength and period as well as a keen witness of birds and nature. Like climax peers, he was an avid huntsman, and he also had a hollow appreciation and concern for conservation; put it to somebody his later writings he sounded grandeur alarm about destruction of birds pole habitats. It is fitting that these days we carry his name and present into the future".
Values of probity Birds of America
[change | change source]In December 2010, The Economist magazine believed that, adjusted for inflation, five attain the ten highest prices ever compel to for printed books were paid foothold copies of Birds of America.[2] A number of the 119 copies known to subsist, only eleven are held in concealed collections.[3]
On 6 December 2010, a absolute copy of the first edition was sold in London at Sotheby's apply for £7,321,250 (about $11.5 million).[4][5] The palatable bid was a record auction twisted for a printed book and was placed by a London-based art trader, who outbid three others during decency auction.[4] According to the provenance information reported by the auction house, picture copy's original owner was Henry Witham of Durham, listed as subscriber #11 in Audubon's Ornithological biography.[5]