Search the Collection: Artists > John James Audubon
John James Audubon (1785-1851)
John James Audubon was born in Santo Domingo, (now Haiti). Audubon spent his youth in France and was sent to America in 1803 at the age of 18 to escape conscription into Napoleon's army.. He began drawing birds as a child, and in America his passion grew into an obsession. At home in the wilderness, he observed and drew birds endlessly and in 1826 he set off for Europe in search of an engraver to translate portfolio of watercolors into copper-plate engravings. He spent 13 years in England supervising the printing of his monumental Birds of America. He was devoted to his wife, Lucy and their two sons, John Woodhouse Audubon and Victor Gifford Audubon. He left numerous letters and journals about his adventures which make lively reading. There are many biographies about this fascinating artist.
