Large Classical Bird Color Print after John James Audubon - Painted Finch

20th century

Classical Bird print, after John James Audubon, printed by Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, New York unframed, 17 x 14 inches color print on paper condition: very good provenance: from...

Classical Bird print, after John James Audubon, printed by Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, New York unframed, 17 x 14 inches color print on paper condition: very good provenance: from...

A hand-colored copperplate engraving of a bird and plants by Mark Catesby (1683-1749) entitled "The Crested Titmous" from "The Natural History of Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the Bahama Islands", published in 1731. It depicts a small Crested Titmous bird, facing left, perched on the stem of a plant with clusters of mauve colored star-like flowers. This original Catesby hand-colored engraving, on laid paper with a large central Fleur-de-Lys watermark, is presented in a cream color French mat. The mat measures 20" x 15.5" and the sheet measures 18.75" x 14.75". Mark Catesby was born in England to a prosperous family, but he traveled to America, first to visit his sister and her husband in 1712. From 1712 to 1719 he explored America observing its birds and plants, taking notes, creating drawings and collecting specimens. He returned to England with this material and created more detailed drawings. His next visit to America 1722-1726 allowed for more detailed research. Upon his return to England he created his monumental and beautiful work "The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and Bahama Islands", which was published in London in two folio volumes of 11 parts each consisting of 20 plates...

Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Bonaparte’s Flycatching-Warbler (Great Magnolia)" (Plate 73, No. 15) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition Year: 1840-1844 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 1,200 Printer: John T. Bowen, Philadelphia, PA Publisher: John James Audubon and J.B. Chevalier, New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA Sheet size: 10.5" x 6.5" Image size: 7.5" x 5.63" Condition: Minor area of discoloration upper right corner. In excellent condition with strong colors Notes: Lithography and hand-coloring by American artist John T. Bowen (1801-c.1856). Comes from Audubon's famous seven volume portfolio "The Birds of America", First Royal Octavo Edition (1840-1844), which consists of 500 hand-colored lithographs. Based on a composition painted on August 13, 1821. The Canada warbler is a small boreal songbird of the New World warbler family. It summers in Canada and northeastern United States and winters in northern South America. To make 'The Birds of America' more affordable and widely available, in 1839 John James Audubon began the first octavo edition, a smaller version of the folio which was printed and hand-colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. Employing a new invention, the camera lucida, the images were reduced in size, rendered in intermediate drawings by John James Audubon and his son John Woodhouse, and then drawn onto lithographic stones. These miniatures exhibit a remarkable amount of attention to quality and detail, as well as a meticulous fidelity to the larger works. Some compositional changes were made in order to accommodate the smaller format. Like the Havell edition, John James Audubon’s first...