For the potential buyer it’s best to make sure that watermark is in the paper, and leave the “was trimmed off” watermarks for other buyers.ģ) Presence of a plate mark. It’s possible that if the watermark was at the very edge of the paper and the print was trimmed that the watermark may be missing or obscured. The Audubon watermarks will say J Whatman and a year of printing below (ala ‘1831’). Many of today’s computer printer and typing papers have watermarks, so you can practice your looking skills on paper around the house. A watermark is best seen when holding the paper up in front of a bright light. A reprint can be the same size, but an untrimmed odd size is a giveaway a print is a later reprint.Ģ) A “J Whatman” watermark in the paper. Luckily for collectors, identifying the original large prints are surprisingly easy if you know what to look for.Īn original large 1820s-30s Audubon “Birds of America” print should have the following four qualities (There are also genuine small (1/8th) size Audubon prints, but this brief essay is only about the jumbo versions):ġ) Measure about 26×39 inches if untrimmed. His drawing of the flamingo offers “ beautiful details of the long legs that help the flamingo wade into deep water, webbed toes to support it on muddy ground, a serpentine neck to twist the head backward in the water, and a boomerang-shaped beak to filter water and trap food.” Today Audubon prints are incredibly valuable and are sold as masterful works of art.The wildly popular large Audubon “Birds of America” prints were originally printed in the 1820s-30s, and have been reprinted many times since, including as everyday posters. In regards to the American Flamingo - rather than give up size and detail, Audubon chose to depict the bird bending down, as if it was about to dip its beak into the water. However, the American flamingo can stand almost five feet high. The original books were three feet tall by two feet wide - enough room for life-sized drawing of almost any bird in America.
His biggest contribution to ease of visibility was that he painted the birds as close to their actual size as possible. He presented the birds at eye level to make them clearly visible.
American flamingo painting autobahn professional#
When his prints were first published, some scientists and naturalists objected to Audubon’s use of artistic dramatic action and pictorial design “These are the qualities that set his work apart and made it not only an invaluable record of early American wildlife but an unmatched work of American art.” - Henry AtkinsonĪudubon wanted to make Birds of America useful to both professional and amateur ornithologists.
When Audubon showed birds as they appeared in the wild and in many cases in books so large he could present them life-sized, the public was enthralled. John James Audubon’s was the first to attempt to catalog North American birds in more than just a common scientific illustration format, which basically was lifeless specimens against a blank background. The Audubon publication included life-sized representations of nearly five hundred species of North American birds. The four volumes of various Audubon prints of birds was published between 18.
Lauderdale, FL and is featured in John James Audubon’s monumental book Birds of America. The popular Flamingo (now extinct) was drawn in Ft. The most famous of the Audubon Prints titled American Flamingo - John Audubon created this iconic drawing of an American flamingo as part of his 435 hand-colored engravings.
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