John James Audubon, whose name is synonymous with American ornithology (the study of birds), began to truly work from nature when he arrived in the US from Haiti in 1803. It was here that Audubon developed the techniques that granted his drawings a vitality and precision that transcended simply scientific representations of a species to become revealing, individual portraits. Upon the occasion of the artist’s birthday, click through to discover some of his best selling works, including a magnificent, rare copy of Birds of America, which sold for £7.3 million and broke the world record for a single book sold at auction.
Travel, Atlases, Maps and Natural History
15 May | London