International Art Treasures Web Magazine

March 2006  

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Spectacular Achievements
Audubon’s Animals of
North America

Title: The Jaguar, 1846
Artist: John Woodhouse Audubon (American 1812-1862)
Medium: Hand-Colored Lithograph; Dimensions: 20-1/2 x 26"
Permanent Collection: Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas
Image Courtesy: The R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana

Selected Works from the Collection of the
Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas
at the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana
March 5 - April 30, 2006

The name Audubon automatically draws forth images of birds and bird conservation. John James Audubon combined his interest in ornithology and art to create illustrations of every species of birds native to the United States of America. His tireless work resulted in the publication of The Birds of America, from Original Drawings, with 435 Plates Showing 1,065 Figures. It was a four-volume set published in 1827-1838.

Four years later Audubon began work on The Viviparous Quadrupeds of America, which was published 1845-1848.

Title: Collared Peccary, 1844
Artist: John James Audubon (American 1785-1851)
Medium: Hand-Colored Lithograph; Dimensions: 20-1/2 x 26"
Permanent Collection: Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas
Image Courtesy: The R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana

As Bird of America was in its final stages Audubon embarked on yet another monumental task to use his talents of observation and illustration to complete a study of the animals native to North America. The Quadrupeds, was a much harder task than Audubon had realized. Many of the animals were nocturnal in nature making it nearly impossible to discover their habits. With this work he had help notably from his sons John Woodhouse Audubon and Victor Gifford Audubon.

John James Audubon was born in Haiti and raised in France. He was an artistic pupil of Jacques-Louis David, the noted French portraitist and history painter. David is considered to be the greatest Neo-Classical painter ever and heavily influenced European artists during his lifetime (1748-1825).

Title: Virginian Opossum, 1845
Artist: John James Audubon, (American 1785-1851)
Medium: Hand-Colored Lithograph; Dimensions: 20-3/4 x 26"
Permanent Collection: Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas
Image Courtesy: The R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana

On display will be seventy original hand-colored lithographs from John James Audubon’s The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. These images are quite possible the finest images of North American animals ever made.

It is believed there are only 300 complete sets of the 150 images contained in Quadrupeds. Spectacular Achievements: Audubon’s Animals of North America includes illustrations of Ocelot, Jaguar, Lynx, Male Cougar, Female Cougar, Grizzly Bear, Beaver, Black Wolf, Red Texan Wolf, Wolverine, Virginia Opossum, Northern Hare, Cross Fox, Collared Peccary, Horned Antelope and Columbian Black Tailed Deer.

R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA:
March 5 - April 30, 2006
Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock:
May 21 - October 1, 2006
City of Carlsbad William D. Cannon Art Gallery, California:
October 22 - December 17, 2006
City of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Museums, Virginia:
January 7, 2007 - March 4, 2007
Long Island Museums of American Art, History, & Carriages, NY:
June 10 - October 21, 2007
Spartanburg County Museum of Art, South Carolina:
November 11, 2007 - Jan 6, 2008
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi:
January 27, 2008 - March 23, 2008
Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wisconsin:
April 13 - June 8, 2008
Haggin Museum, Stockton, California:
July 6, 2008 - August 24, 2008