John James Audubon

French-born American naturalist and artist. Born in Haiti, Audubon was educated in France where he reportedly received drawing lessons from David. He appears to have visited America in 1803, before settling there in 1806. He led a peripatetic life as merchant and portrait painter before working as a taxidermist in Ohio. After 1820 he devoted himself to painting birds with the intention of publication. Having failed to find an American publisher he visited England in 1826 where The Birds of America was issued in four volumes (1827–38) of hand-tinted aquatints by Robert Havell, whose son Robert Jr. (active 1820–50) engraved the plates. He completed the text (5 vols., 1831–9) in Edinburgh with the assistance of William MacGillivray (1796–1852) before returning to New York in 1839. He now began work on The Quadrupeds of America (2 vols., 1842–5) assisted by his sons. The Birds of America, which is generally considered to be among the finest of colour-print books, contains engravings of 435 watercolours (New York, Historical Society) which combine scientific accuracy with dramatic composition and great artistry.