photo of the Audubon Great Horned Owl watercolor study in white mat on display at museum
photo of Audubon’s Birds of America in glass case turned to plate 61 Great Horned Owl on display at museum
photo of gallery label #1: “John James Audubon (1785-1851) Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) Study for Havell pl. 61, 1814; after 1821 Watercolor, collage, pastel, graphite, black chalk, black ink, and gouache on three pieces ofpaper, laid on card The New York Historical, Purchased for the Society by public subscription from Mrs. John J. Audubon, 1863.17.61 Audubon represents the male (right) and larger female (left) as near mirror images and overlaps them to signify their pair bond. As he describes the pairing behavior: "The curious evolutions of the male in the air, or his motions when he has alighted near his beloved..., [his bowings, and the snappings of his bill, are extremely ludicrous; and no sooner is the female assured that the attentions paid her by the beau are the result of a sincere affection, than she joins in the motions of her future mate." Audubon rendered the male on the forward branch in pastel and watercolor, and the female primarily in watercolor. He then used complicated media like wet pastel to unify the composition, which appears seamless but is in fact collaged. The male has been collaged onto a sheet showing the female. That sheet has in turn been collaged onto a third sheet of paper, the support.”
![photo of gallery label #2:
“Robert Havell Jr. (1793-1878) after John James Audubon (1785-1851)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
plate 61 of The Birds of America (1827-38), volume 1
Hand-colored etching with aquatint and engraving
The New York Historical, Gift of Mrs. [Patricia] Harvey Breit and Mrs. Gratia R.
Laiser inmemory of their mother, Gratia Houghton Rinehart, 1954
Audubon intended his watercolors of the birds of North America to be reproduced and distributed in print form. For all but ten of the 435 prints, he partnered with Robert Havell, Jr. of Robert Havell and Sons, who translated Audubon's watercolor models onto copper plates through a complex process of etching, engraving, and the layering of aquatint tones. The plates were printed onto double elephant folio sheets— so named for their unprecedentedly large paper size, which allowed the birds to be reproduced life-sized. These prints were then hand colored by yet-to-be-identified women who worked in assembly-line fashion, each applying a single hue. The resulting Birds of America prints, sold on subscription five at a time, rank among the finest in printmaking history. This is a rare example from a complete, bound, four-volume set.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:l5pcfqdnvtivhxufycjnvzui/bafkreicyt6pis464rk6eieyzaguiysxb7wuxjinmwbqpl5lbiszrjdgfi4)
photo of gallery label #2: “Robert Havell Jr. (1793-1878) after John James Audubon (1785-1851) Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) plate 61 of The Birds of America (1827-38), volume 1 Hand-colored etching with aquatint and engraving The New York Historical, Gift of Mrs. [Patricia] Harvey Breit and Mrs. Gratia R. Laiser inmemory of their mother, Gratia Houghton Rinehart, 1954 Audubon intended his watercolors of the birds of North America to be reproduced and distributed in print form. For all but ten of the 435 prints, he partnered with Robert Havell, Jr. of Robert Havell and Sons, who translated Audubon's watercolor models onto copper plates through a complex process of etching, engraving, and the layering of aquatint tones. The plates were printed onto double elephant folio sheets— so named for their unprecedentedly large paper size, which allowed the birds to be reproduced life-sized. These prints were then hand colored by yet-to-be-identified women who worked in assembly-line fashion, each applying a single hue. The resulting Birds of America prints, sold on subscription five at a time, rank among the finest in printmaking history. This is a rare example from a complete, bound, four-volume set.”
For #AudubonDay :
Both the original watercolor study & published print of John James Audubon’s (1785-1851) Great Horned #Owl (Bubo virginianus), Plate 61 of The Birds of America (1827-38) - currently on display together at The New York Historical.
#BirdsInArt
