John James Audubon (1785-1851) stands as a towering figure in American art and natural history, renowned for his ambitious endeavor to document all the birds of America. While Alexander Wilson preceded him in this pursuit, Audubon’s impact and artistry cemented his place as the young nation’s preeminent wildlife artist for half a century. His magnum opus, The Birds of America, a groundbreaking collection of 435 life-size prints, not only surpassed Wilson’s earlier work but continues to be a benchmark against which contemporary bird artists like Roger Tory Peterson and David Sibley are measured.
Describing John James Audubon necessitates acknowledging his multifaceted nature. He was undeniably a genius and a pioneer, yet also a fabulist whose perspectives were shaped by the prevailing white dominance of his era in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. His contributions to ornithology, art, and cultural heritage are immense. However, a closer examination reveals a more complex and, at times, troubling individual. Audubon engaged in actions considered reprehensible even by the standards of his time. He faced accusations, both during his lifetime and posthumously, of academic dishonesty and plagiarism, charges that are largely substantiated. More disturbingly, he was a slave owner who openly criticized emancipation and engaged in the unethical practice of stealing human remains, forwarding skulls to a colleague who employed them to promote racist theories of white supremacy.
Adding another layer to his intricate history is the ambiguity surrounding John James Audubon’s origins. Compelling research suggests the possibility that Audubon’s mother was of mixed race, potentially making the iconic American bird artist a man of color himself. Conversely, other accounts maintain his mother was white. Audubon himself obscured the truth of his birth, falsely claiming Louisiana as his birthplace. Regardless of the precise circumstances of his birth, his documented beliefs and actions offer a clearer picture of his character.
It’s noteworthy that John James Audubon passed away decades before the establishment of the first Audubon societies. The adoption of his name by the National Audubon Society stems from George Bird Grinnell, a founder of the early Audubon movement in the late 19th century. Grinnell was mentored by Lucy Audubon, John James’s widow, and chose the name to honor Audubon’s significant stature in wildlife art and natural history.
Born in 1785 in Saint Domingue, present-day Haiti, John James Audubon was the illegitimate son of a French sea captain and sugar plantation owner. The identity of his mother remains uncertain, with possibilities ranging from Jeanne Rabine, a French chambermaid, to Catherine “Sanitte” Bouffard, a mixed-race housekeeper. At the young age of five, coinciding with the onset of the Haitian Revolution, Audubon was sent to Nantes, France, where he was raised by his father’s wife, Anne. It was in France that John James Audubon developed his passions for birds, nature, drawing, and music.
Alt text: John James Audubon’s detailed illustration of an Eastern Phoebe, a bird species central to his pioneering bird-banding experiment.
In 1803, at the age of 18, John James Audubon was sent to America, partly to avoid conscription into Napoleon’s army. He settled on the family estate, Mill Grove, near Philadelphia. Here, he immersed himself in hunting, studying and sketching birds, and met his future wife, Lucy Bakewell. Mill Grove became the site of Audubon’s pioneering bird-banding experiment in North America. By attaching strings to the legs of Eastern Phoebes, he made a remarkable discovery: these birds returned to the same nesting sites year after year.
For over a decade, Audubon pursued a career in business, venturing down the Ohio River to western Kentucky, then considered the frontier. He established a dry-goods store in Henderson, Kentucky. While engaged in commerce, his passion for birds remained, and he continued to draw them as a hobby, building a substantial portfolio of avian art. Tragically, during this period, Audubon also participated in the buying and selling of enslaved people to financially support his business endeavors. Initially successful, Audubon’s business fortunes eventually declined, leading to a brief imprisonment for bankruptcy in 1819.
Facing financial ruin, John James Audubon embarked on a new path in the early 1820s, dedicating himself to depicting the birds of America. Equipped with only his gun, art supplies, and a young assistant, he set out on this ambitious artistic journey. In 1826, Audubon sailed to England with his partially completed collection. His life-size, dramatic bird portraits, accompanied by his romanticized narratives of wilderness life, resonated deeply with the prevailing Romantic sensibilities of the European continent. He secured a printer for The Birds of America, first in Edinburgh, then London. Later, he collaborated with Scottish ornithologist William MacGillivray to create the ornithological biographies, detailed life histories for each species featured in his monumental work.
Alt text: Iconic Plate 1 from John James Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’, showcasing a vividly rendered Wild Turkey in its natural habitat.
By 1838, the final print of The Birds of America was issued. John James Audubon had achieved considerable fame and financial stability. He undertook further expeditions across America in search of avian subjects and eventually settled in New York City. In 1843, he embarked on one last western journey, which provided material for his final major work, Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. This project was largely completed by his sons, with text contributions from his longtime friend, the Lutheran pastor John Bachman, who, like Audubon, held anti-abolitionist views and whose daughters married Audubon’s sons.
John James Audubon passed away at the age of 65. He is interred in Trinity Cemetery at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City, leaving behind a complex legacy as both a brilliant artist and a flawed figure of American history.
