Fork-Tailed Gull

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John James Audubon
Fork-Tailed Gull
1835

About the Item

An original hand-colored engraving with aquatint on double-elephant folio, J. Whatman paper by American artist John James Audubon (1785-1851) titled "Fork-Tailed Gull", 1835. Plate CCLXXXV - 285; part No. 57. Engraved, printed, and hand-colored by English artist Robert Havell Jr. (1793-1878). Limited edition: approx. 180. Comes from Audubon's monumental book volume "The Birds of America", (Havell Edition, 1827-1838), which consists of 435 hand-colored, life-size prints, made from engraved plates, with each sheet originally measuring around 39" x 26". J. Whatman 1835 watermark lower right. Provenance: corporate bank collection - Pittsburgh, PA; acquired in the 1990's from The Old Print Shop, New York, NY. Sheet size: 22.25" x 30.75". Platemark size: 12.38" x 19.5". Image size: 10" x 18". Minor toning and several scattered (barely noticeable) pinholes across sheet. In otherwise good condition with nice colors. Rare. The composition was probably painted in 1835 in Great Britain. Sabine's gull also known as the fork-tailed gull or xeme, is a small gull. It is the only species placed in the genus Xema. It breeds in colonies on coasts and tundra, laying two or three spotted olive-brown eggs in a ground nest lined with grass. Sabine's gull is pelagic outside the breeding season. "The Birds of America" (Havell Edition) - In Edinburgh, the Scottish engraver W. H. Lizars began to produce the very first plates for Birds of America. However, after the completion of only ten plates, Lizars' colorists went on strike, and Audubon was forced to continue his pursuit of an engraver. Audubon's dream finally found fruition with Robert Havell, a renowned London engraver. The portfolio of Birds of America, consisting of 435 hand-colored engravings, took twelve years, from 1826 to 1838, to complete. Havell also retouched Lizars' original efforts, adding aquatint to the engraving, and on those ten plates the Havell name appears alongside that of the Scottish engraver's. There were 176 recorded subscribers to the 'Birds of America' series and it is known that a handful of extra Audubon books were produced as well. Of the approximate amount of 180 ever produced, roughly 100 have never been broken and remain in permanent public museum and institution collections. In light of that, roughly only 80 examples possibly exist on the open market in private hands today. John James Audubon (April 26, 1785, Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) – January 27, 1851 (aged 65) Manhattan, New York, U.S.), born Jean-Jacques Audubon, was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species. Robert Havell Jr. (25 November 1793 – 11 November 1878) was the principal engraver of Audubon's Birds of America, perhaps the most significant natural history publication of all time. His aquatint engraving of all but the first ten plates of John James Audubon's Birds of America is now recognized as a significant artistic achievement in its own right and an essential component of the success of Birds of America. He and Audubon became close friends and associates during their lengthy collaboration. In 1839 Havell went to America at the invitation of Audubon, first residing in Brooklyn. He settled in Ossining on the Hudson River and later moved to Tarrytown, New York, living there from 1857 through his remaining years. Although Havell continued to work in aquatint and engraving (primarily city panoramas), he devoted most of his attention to painting the countryside of the Hudson River valley. He traveled frequently in a homemade horse-drawn trailer, sketching and taking notes and translating his sketches into larger oils. Robert Havell Jr. is considered a member of the Hudson River School of American painters. He died in 1878 and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Tarrytown.

Creator:
John James Audubon (1785-1851, American, French)
Creation Year:
1835
Dimensions:
Height: 22.25 in (56.52 cm)Width: 30.75 in (78.11 cm)
Medium:
Watercolor,Engraving,Aquatint
Movement & Style:
Victorian
Period:
1830-1839
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Saint Augustine, FL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU12129424312

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John James Audubon
Fork-Tailed Gull
1835

About the Item