Horned Grebe
- Description
- Robert Havell Jr. engraved this copper plate in 1835 for John James Audubon's publication, the Birds of America, published in Britain between 1827 and 1838 as a series of large folio engravings. The Museum's Graphic Arts Collection includes seven of the original copper plates and prints from several editions of the work.
- The Birds of America was published in several formats. The first large folio edition was intended for wealthy patrons or institutions. Later editions, produced in the United States for a more general audience, included text and smaller, less costly lithographic illustrations.
- Audubon introduced new species and new artistic forms. His dramatic images of birds, pictured life-size in animated poses with realistic backgrounds, represented a departure from the conventions of natural history illustration. His artistic ingenuity, as reproduced in engravings and lithographs, won new audiences for the subject of nature study, eventually leading to the organization of Audubon societies.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- plate
- Object Type
- Engraving
- Date made
- 1835
- referenced
- Havell, Jr., Robert
- Audubon, John James
- original artist
- Audubon, John James
- graphic artist
- Havell, Jr., Robert
- Physical Description
- copper (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 38.3 cm x 53.5 cm; 15 1/16 in x 21 1/16 in
- place made
- United Kingdom: England, London
- ID Number
- GA*00927
- accession number
- 1884.015094
- catalog number
- 00927
- accession number
- 15094
- subject
- Art
- Natural Resources
- Printmaking
- Birds
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Graphic Arts
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Related Publication
- Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
- Additional Media
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