Audubon's Birds of America

Audubon’s Birds of America

Available to tour from June 2022 Audubon’s Birds of America

This touring exhibition presents a rare opportunity to display a beautiful selection of National Museums Scotland’s collection of prints from Audubon’s remarkable masterpiece, the Birds of America. This is a landmark work of ornithological illustration and one of the most famous and expensive books in the world.

John James Audubon (1785–1851) is an American icon and legendary naturalist. His paintings of the natural world are some of the most famous and recognisable in the history of art and natural sciences, whilst his portrait hangs in the White House. The epic scale of Audubon’s ambition in documenting all the bird species of America, observing them in the wild, and the extraordinarily animated, dramatic and detailed illustrations he produced, make him an appealing adventurer. However, throughout his career he attracted controversies which follow him to this day. Examining these, and uncovering the man behind the ‘myth’ will be a key narrative throughout the exhibition. 1 Audubon visited Edinburgh, Scotland for the first time in 1826 and it was here that the first plates were engraved and the 11-year long process of publishing his four-volume folio, Birds of America, began.

1. Purple Finch – plate 4 (detail) 2. Great American Hen & Young – plate 6 (detail) Opposite: Snowy Owl – plate 121

2 3 Exhibition Structure

Introducing John James Audubon The Ornithologists’ Art The exhibition will open by introducing John James This section delves into the artistic and scientific Audubon, his background, and the contradictions context of the time, setting up a clear contrast with and embellishments of his life. He was a family man, the work of contemporaries, so that visitors can a failed businessman and an early chronicler of the appreciate the ground-breaking approach taken impact of man on nature. He was born in Haiti, the by Audubon. illegitimate son of a slave-trader and plantation The objects and interpretation here will explore owner and a chambermaid. Later he himself owned what made Audubon unique. Bird illustrations enslaved people and dismissed the abolitionist by his predecessors and contemporaries were movement on both sides of the Atlantic – an stiff and unnatural, which was unsurprising as uncomfortable fact which has often been ignored they often drew from study skins and taxidermy or forgotten but is now being addressed by the in lifeless poses. Audubon broke away from this, National Audubon Society. depicting scenes from nature, pinning birds This section includes a film and will look at Audubon into lifelike poses which he had observed in life, the icon – but also the man behind the myth. and painting on the spot. This practice made Audubon’s art uniquely lively, full of personality and drama, and truly exquisite in its detail.

5 The Great Work – Audubon’s Birds of America This section is the narrative apex of the exhibition, with a bound facsimile edition of the Birds of America as the centrepiece, showing the breath-taking scale of the book which measures 100 x 130 cm (approx. 51 x 39 inches) when open. Distinct subsections around this central exhibit reveal the technical audacity of the project, the 1 artistic techniques involved, and the practical implications of these. One example is Audubon’s insistence that all illustrations would show the birds life size. This required enormous paper sheets, Audubon in Edinburgh, Scotland the largest available at the time. Even then, some In 1826, Audubon travelled to Edinburgh for the species had to be depicted in bizarre contortions first time, where he began working with the Scottish to fit on the double elephant folio pages, each artist, William Home Lizars, to engrave and start the measuring 96 x 66 cm (approx. 38 x 26 inches). process of publishing the Birds of America as a four- Several short, engaging films are planned to volume folio, funded by subscribers. His diaries and showcase the skills involved in realising Audubon’s letters offer intriguing details of his encounters, his vision, such as engraving and aquatint. The section impressions of the people he met, and their impact will close with a film about how conservators at on him. Northumbria University (UK) and National Museums A digital interactive in this section will enable Scotland are providing insight into the paper and visitors to explore the vibrant intellectual life of pigments used in Audubon’s Birds of America. 19th-century Edinburgh, a city buzzing with the new scientific, philosophical and cultural ideas of the Enlightenment, which Audubon must have experienced at first hand. We encourage and will support hosting tour partners to include stories of Audubon’s time spent in other areas of the world which may be of interest and relevance to their local audiences.

1. Prairie Warbler – plate 14 (detail) 2. Conservation of Barn Owl – plate 171 2 Opposite: The Bird of Washington or Great American Sea Eagle – plate 11 Northumbria University©2019 6 7 8 1. Purple Grackle – plate 7 (detail) 2. Blue Yellow back Warbler – plate 15

9 Audubon the Naturalist This final section explores Audubon’s legacy as both artist and scientist and his continuing relevance to nature conservation today. He was the first naturalist to depict birds in their habitats, showing their behaviour, diet, social groups, and raptors with their prey. He identified 25 species that were new to science, but he also made errors in identification. As a result of climate change, hunting, and habitat loss many of the species he depicted, such as the Carolina Parrot, are now extinct or highly vulnerable. Through the display of objects, specimens and a film presentation, visitors can explore how our natural world has changed since the 19th century, and the challenges that many species now face. The historic and current role of the National Audubon Society in conservation will be explained. The exhibition will end by encouraging visitors to consider the urgent steps we must take as individuals to reduce our impact on the natural world.

1. Carolina Parrot – plate 26 1

10 Exhibition details

The exhibition will premiere at National Museums Scotland from 21 January to 24 April 2022.

Size The exhibition requires a space of approximately 450–650m2 or 120 linear metres. Light levels of 50 lux must be achieved.

Objects Approximately 40 original double-elephant folio framed prints each measuring 113 x 83 cm (approx. 44 x 33 inches). Letters, notebooks, articles and mounted taxidermy birds will also be included.

Schedule Available to tour from June 2022. Standard hire periods are three to four months. To protect and preserve these works on paper, the exhibition tour is available for a limited time only.

Publication Audubon in Edinburgh by John Chalmers, published by National Museums Scotland is available to accompany the exhibition.

Included in the hire fee: • Curation and exhibition concept by National Museums Scotland • Administration and tour management • Exhibition crating • Exhibition text in English • Audio visual software of the exhibition films • Marketing guidelines and media kit

Optional (additional fee): • Exhibition design IP (including graphic templates, elevations and colour palettes)

11 [email protected] United Kingdom Chambers Street Edinburgh EH11JF National MuseumsScotland Touring Exhibitions For more information contact broader range of audiences, revealing themany fascinating stories theseobjects tell. exhibitions we offer ourinternationally important collection anddiverse research to a We create inspiring andmemorable visitor experiences. Through ourtouring Cover image:Carolina PigeonorTurtle Dove –plate 17 Above image:The MockingBird –plate 21

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