John James Audubon was born on April 26, 1785, in Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, France (now Haiti). From his father´s Pennsylvania estate, Audubon made the first American bird-banding experiments. He began collecting all things ornithological and making pencil and pastel sketches of birds. As his confidence as an artist grew, he ventured into watercolors, the medium he would most often employ. Audubon became a traveling artist, teaching occasional pupils, but always painting local birds and their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon died on January 27, 1851 in New York City. Note: This artwork can also be obtained without accompanying text in the illustration. Please contact us.
