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Capturing Nature: The Writings and Art of John James Audubon
Featuring the delightful prose and paintings of famous artist and bird lover John James Audubon, this volume captures the grace and spirit of birds in the natural world.
- GenresBiography
39 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 1993
17 people want to read
About the author
John James Audubon
514 books33 followersSuch volumes as
The Birds of America
(1827-1838) collect naturalistic detail and artistic sensibility of noted engravings of Haitian-born ornithologist John James Audubon.
This able French painter expansively studied to document all types, and his illustrations depicted habitats. People consider his finest major work, a color-plate book, entitled and ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species.
After 1819, Audubon went bankrupt, and people threw him into jail for debt. He drew portraits, particularly death-bed sketches, which country folk greatly esteemed before photography, to earn the little money. He wrote, "[M]y heart was sorely heavy, for scarcely had I enough to keep my dear ones alive; and yet through these dark days I was being led to the development of the talents I loved."
Audubon made some excursions west, where he expected to record species that he missed, but his health began to fail. In 1848, he manifested signs of senility, his "noble mind in ruins." He died at his family home. People buried body of Audubon close to the location of his home at 155th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, city of New York. An imposing monument honors him at the cemetery, the center of the heritage rose district.
Influence of Audubon on history reached far. His high standards inspired nearly all later works. Charles Darwin quoted Audubon three times in On the Origin of Species and also in later works. Despite some errors in field observations, he made a significant contribution to the understanding of anatomy and behavior. People still consider the greatest examples of book. Audubon discovered 25 new species and 12 new subspecies.
In recognition of his contributions, people elected him to the royal society of Edinburgh and the Linnaeans.
The open homestead of mill grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania, contains a museum, presenting and including all his major works, to the public.
The museum at state park in Henderson, Kentucky houses many of his original watercolors, oils, and personal memorabilia.
In 1905, people incorporated and named the national Audubon society in his honor. Its mission "is to conserve and restore ecosystems, focusing on birds..."
The postal service of the United States honored him with a 22¢ great series stamp.
On 6 December 2010, auction of Sotheby sold a copy for $11.5 million, the second highest price for a single printed book.
On 26 April 2011, Google displayed a special doodle on its global homepage to celebrate his 226th birthday.
Named:
Audubon park in New Jersey. He drew many street signs in Audubon Park.
Audubon, Pennsylvania, also has the Audubon sanctuary. Most of the streets in this small town are named that he drew.
Audubon Elementary School, Audubon, Pennsylvania
The Audubon Institute, a family of museums, parks and other organizations in New Orleans, eight of which bear the Audubon name.
The Audubon Park and country club in Louisville, Kentucky is in the area of his former general store.
Several towns and Audubon County, Iowa.
In Louisiana, John James Audubon Bridge (Mississippi River); Audubon Park & Zoo, New Orleans.
The northbound span of the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges was originally named the Audubon Memorial Bridge.
John James Audubon State Park and the Audubon Museum (located within the park) in Henderson, Kentucky.
Audubon Parkway, also in Kentucky, is a limited-access highway connecting Henderson with Owensboro, Kentucky.
Rue Jean-Jacques Audubon in Nantes and Rue Audubon in Paris.
This able French painter expansively studied to document all types, and his illustrations depicted habitats. People consider his finest major work, a color-plate book, entitled and ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species.
After 1819, Audubon went bankrupt, and people threw him into jail for debt. He drew portraits, particularly death-bed sketches, which country folk greatly esteemed before photography, to earn the little money. He wrote, "[M]y heart was sorely heavy, for scarcely had I enough to keep my dear ones alive; and yet through these dark days I was being led to the development of the talents I loved."
Audubon made some excursions west, where he expected to record species that he missed, but his health began to fail. In 1848, he manifested signs of senility, his "noble mind in ruins." He died at his family home. People buried body of Audubon close to the location of his home at 155th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, city of New York. An imposing monument honors him at the cemetery, the center of the heritage rose district.
Influence of Audubon on history reached far. His high standards inspired nearly all later works. Charles Darwin quoted Audubon three times in On the Origin of Species and also in later works. Despite some errors in field observations, he made a significant contribution to the understanding of anatomy and behavior. People still consider the greatest examples of book. Audubon discovered 25 new species and 12 new subspecies.
In recognition of his contributions, people elected him to the royal society of Edinburgh and the Linnaeans.
The open homestead of mill grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania, contains a museum, presenting and including all his major works, to the public.
The museum at state park in Henderson, Kentucky houses many of his original watercolors, oils, and personal memorabilia.
In 1905, people incorporated and named the national Audubon society in his honor. Its mission "is to conserve and restore ecosystems, focusing on birds..."
The postal service of the United States honored him with a 22¢ great series stamp.
On 6 December 2010, auction of Sotheby sold a copy for $11.5 million, the second highest price for a single printed book.
On 26 April 2011, Google displayed a special doodle on its global homepage to celebrate his 226th birthday.
Named:
Audubon park in New Jersey. He drew many street signs in Audubon Park.
Audubon, Pennsylvania, also has the Audubon sanctuary. Most of the streets in this small town are named that he drew.
Audubon Elementary School, Audubon, Pennsylvania
The Audubon Institute, a family of museums, parks and other organizations in New Orleans, eight of which bear the Audubon name.
The Audubon Park and country club in Louisville, Kentucky is in the area of his former general store.
Several towns and Audubon County, Iowa.
In Louisiana, John James Audubon Bridge (Mississippi River); Audubon Park & Zoo, New Orleans.
The northbound span of the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges was originally named the Audubon Memorial Bridge.
John James Audubon State Park and the Audubon Museum (located within the park) in Henderson, Kentucky.
Audubon Parkway, also in Kentucky, is a limited-access highway connecting Henderson with Owensboro, Kentucky.
Rue Jean-Jacques Audubon in Nantes and Rue Audubon in Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 21, 2024
A beautiful book about naturalist, writer and artist John James Audubon (1785-1851), for children. Illustrated by Audubon's own paintings of birds, this account of his life and work uses his own words from his letters, journals and books. We see his childhood, when he became interested in nature. We see him when he was seventeen and was sent by his father from France to Pennsylvania, USA. Later, he went to Kentucky to work as a merchant there, but he was interested in the study of birds and nature, not making money.
From 1803 till his death in 1851, he wandered the fields and forests of America, as far west as Montana. He painted the birds he saw life-size, showing them in their native habitats...
His great work was his book, "Birds of America," which was published in England. It became a great success, one of the great books of art of American history.
As is so often pointed out, the man who studied the birds also hunted them, killing them by the thousands. As he grew older, he became aware that nature was being destroyed by humans. After seeing the killing of hundreds of bison, he wrote, "This cannot last. Even now there is a perceptible difference in the size of the herds and before many years the Buffalo, like the Great Auk, will have disappeared. Surely this should not be permitted."
From 1803 till his death in 1851, he wandered the fields and forests of America, as far west as Montana. He painted the birds he saw life-size, showing them in their native habitats...
His great work was his book, "Birds of America," which was published in England. It became a great success, one of the great books of art of American history.
As is so often pointed out, the man who studied the birds also hunted them, killing them by the thousands. As he grew older, he became aware that nature was being destroyed by humans. After seeing the killing of hundreds of bison, he wrote, "This cannot last. Even now there is a perceptible difference in the size of the herds and before many years the Buffalo, like the Great Auk, will have disappeared. Surely this should not be permitted."
February 27, 2013
A beautiful little book compiled of various writings of John James Audubon about his life, (born in Haiti, his childhood in France and his emigration to Pennsylvania) and the origins of his love of birds and nature. Shockingly, (and this always happens when people read about Audubon) he painted and drew birds that usually, he had killed! At least early in his career. Later he became critical of the widespread killing of animals and worried that the wildness of nature was becoming corrupted by humankind. With beautiful Audubon paintings.
May 24, 2020
Springtime was a good time to revisit this sweet little Audubon read. His journaled entries, illustrated by his beautiful paintings, provide a small glimpse into his early years which fed his great talent.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews