American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

John James Audubon: Science into Art (Exhibition)
birth: 1985 April 18
death: 1985 July 21
Exhibition. Opened April 18, 1985 and closed July 21, 1985. Located in the Naturemax Gallery of the American Museum of Natural History. John James Audubon: Science into Art, curated by Mary LeCroy, Senior Scientific Assistant in the Museum's Department of Ornithology, featured paintings, prints, documents, and memorabilia from the Museum's collection as well as two new hand-colored Birds of America prints struck from original, restored copperplates.
Summary
John James Audubon: Science into Art, curated by Mary LeCroy, Senior Scientific Assistant in the Museum's Department of Ornithology, featured paintings, prints, documents, and memorabilia from the Museum's collection as well as two new hand-colored Birds of America prints struck from original, restored copperplates and examined the methods Audubon used to collect, study, and paint specimens. The exhibition marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of John James Audubon (1, p. 1; 2, p. 38; 3).
The exhibition was produced with a grant from Johnson and Higgins and traveled to other institutions under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service between 1985-1988. Those institutions included the Mississippi River Museum (Memphis, TN), University of Washington (Seattle, WA), Greenville County Museum of Art (Greenville, SC), Staten Island Institute of Art and Sciences (Staten Island, NY), Dane G. Hansen Memorial Museum (Logan, KS), The Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia, PA), Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, WI), and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (Ottawa, ON) (2, p. 4; 4).
Highlights (1, p. 1-3; 3):
*20th century prints of "Wild Turkey, Male" and "Snowy Owl" from Birds of America
*An original Birds of America copperplate
*Birds of America prints issued between 1827 and 1838
*Videos, including a loop documenting the process used in restoration and an excerpt from David Attenborough's film, "Audubon"
*Illustrations by Audubon and his sons, Victor Gifford Audubon and John Woodhouse Audubon
*Illustrations from the Museum Library's rare book room, works by Audubon contemporaries and predecessors including Mark Catesby, William Bartram, Alexander Wilson, Thomas Nuttall, John Kirk Townsend, and Titian Peale
*Audubon's palette
*The portfolio used during Audubon's production of Birds of America
*Photographs of the Audubon family
*Artifacts including buckskin jackets, guns, and bird specimens among them those from Audubon's last expedition on the Missouri River in 1843
*Audubon's mammal paintings made for Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, including "American Porcupine" and "Swift Fox"
This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.