Skip to main content
Questions & Answers
Our trusted network of 1stDibs sellers answer common questions

What is John James Audubon famous for?

1 Answer
What is John James Audubon famous for?
John James Audubon is famous for studying and drawing birds. His goal was to document every type of American bird and is known for his detailed illustrations of birds in their natural habitats. Browse a variety of Audubon drawings and art on 1stDibs.
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
Shop for John James Audubon Art on 1stDibs
Roseate Spoonbill /// John James Audubon Natural History Ornithology Water Bird
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Roseate Spoonbill" (Plate 362, No. 73) Portfolio: The Birds of America (First Royal Octavo Edition) Year: 1840-1844 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 1,200 Printer: John T. Bowen, Philadelphia, PA Publisher: John James Audubon and J.B. Chevalier, New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA Sheet size: 6.75" x 10.44" Image size: 5" x 7.63" Reference: Ayer/Zimmer page 22; Bennett page 5; McGill/Wood page 208; Nissen No. IVB 51; Reese No. 34; Sabin No. 2364; Tyler App. I Condition: In excellent condition Very rare The "Roseate Spoonbill" is one of the very top, absolute most desirable birds from Audubon's famous "Birds of America" series Notes: Provenance: private collection - Fleming Island, FL. Lithography and hand-coloring by American artist John T. Bowen (1801-c.1856). Comes from Audubon's famous seven volume portfolio "The Birds of America", (1840-1844) (First Royal Octavo Edition), which consists of 500 hand-colored lithographs. Based on a composition painted in Florida in 1831 or 1832. "This beautiful and singular bird" was prized for its wings and tail feathers which were made into fans in St. Augustine. The roseate spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin, like the American flamingo. To make 'The Birds of America' more affordable and widely available, in 1839 John James Audubon began the first octavo edition, a smaller version of the folio which was printed and hand-colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. Employing a new invention, the camera lucida, the images were reduced in size, rendered in intermediate drawings by John James Audubon and his son John Woodhouse, and then drawn onto lithographic stones. These miniatures exhibit a remarkable amount of attention to quality and detail, as well as a meticulous fidelity to the larger works. Some compositional changes were made in order to accommodate the smaller format. Like the Havell edition, John James Audubon’s first...
Category

1840s Victorian Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Lithograph

Belted Kingfisher /// John James Audubon Bien Lithograph Birds Landscape Print
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: (after) John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Belted Kingfisher" (Plate 255, no 5-3) Portfolio: The Birds of America (Bien Edition) Year: 1860 Medium: Original Chr...
Category

1860s Victorian Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

American Crow 1858 Chromolithograph by J.J. Audubon Plate, Julius Bien Edition
By John James Audubon
Located in Paonia, CO
American Crow by J.J. Audubon from his Birds of America folio shows an adult male crow in a Black Walnut bush with a nest of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in a branch below the crow. This original chromolithograph plate no. 226 is in good condition with a repairable water mark in the image on the left side as can be seen in the photos. The ” Birds of America” by John James...
Category

1850s Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Golden Winged Woodpecker by J.J. Audubon Bien Edition 1860
By John James Audubon
Located in Paonia, CO
The Golden Winged Woodpecker, Plate 273 Picus auratus, Linn. The current name, Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus. is in good condition. The edges are ragged from age with small areas of paper missing in two places but only on the very edge. The ” Birds of America” by John James...
Category

1860s Other Art Style Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Curlew Bird and Charleston, SC: Original 1st Ed. Audubon Hand-colored Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original rare and extremely collectible first edition John James Audubon hand colored lithograph entitled "Long-billed Curlew", No. 71, Plate 355, from Audubon's "Birds of America. It was lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1840-1844. It depicts a male and a female Long-billed Curlew standing on a grassy mound with water and the skyline of the city of Charleston...
Category

Mid-18th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Great North Diver Bird: Original 19th C. 1st Ed. Audubon Hand-colored Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original rare and extremely collectible first edition John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Great North Diver or Loon", No. 96, Plate 476, from...
Category

Mid-19th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Shop All