Artist Study: John James Audubon
Class Contributor: Jenn Stec, Overstone School, Lexington, KY
Artist
John James Audubon Birth: 1785, Les Cayes, Haiti Death: 1851, Manhatta, New York Period of Art: Early American, Naturalism, Ornithological Study Contemporaries/Events on the timeline: Napoleonic Wars, War of 1812, Early Settlement of America Living Books HIGHLY Recommended The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon Audubon: Painter of Birds in the Wild Frontier Online Biographies National Audubon Society Online Biography Other Visit the John James Audubon State Park of Kentucky Timeline of Audubon's Life How to do a Picture Study in a Home or Group Setting |
The University of Pittsburgh is fortunate to own one of the rare, complete sets of John James Audubon's Birds of America. It is considered to be the single most valuable set of volumes in the collections of the University Library System. Indeed, only 120 complete sets are known to exist. Click here to view the collection. Some of the pictures suggested below will also link to this collection. Click on "Full Picture" to see the zoom-able version of the print and "Description" for more information about its estimated production date and size.
We encourage you to search the collection for birds in your region. The two books that are suggested are short biographies written for children. They are usually available in your local library, however they can also be purchased online. These are excellent living books that could be read over the course of a week or two, provided you take it slowly and your child(ren) narrate as you read.
We encourage you to search the collection for birds in your region. The two books that are suggested are short biographies written for children. They are usually available in your local library, however they can also be purchased online. These are excellent living books that could be read over the course of a week or two, provided you take it slowly and your child(ren) narrate as you read.
- Mourning Dove (originally called Carolina Pigeon)
- Golden Eagle
- Ivory-billed Woodpecker (now extinct)
- American Flamingo
- Yellow Billed Cuckoo
- Wild Turkey
- American Robin
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Blue Crane, or Heron
- White Gyrfalcons
- Arctic Hare
- Blue Yellow-backed Warbler
- Fish Hawk or Osprey (and Weakfish)
- Farmyard Fowls (NGA)