Past Exhibits: > Mammals
Mammals
After finishing The Birds of America, John James Audubon turned his attention to America’s mammals. Portraying animal life proved more challenging than depicting birds. Planning for the work began around 1839. He envisioned a book on a scale never before produced in the United States yet he had no idea how many animals he would describe. Little had been published on North American quadrupeds and collections were poorly housed and incomplete.
