AUDUBON, John James (1785-1851)
The Bird of Washington from The Birds of America
[Pl. XI] London: John James Audubon, 1836. Hand-colored etching with aquatint and line-engraving by Robert Havell, Jr., after a watercolor from nature by Audubon. Paper watermarked "J. Whatman 1836." Sheet: (39 3/4 x 26 1/8 inches).
The controversial Bird of Washington from the first edition of Audubon's "The Birds of America." This is the first plate engraved by Havell, and the first new species described by Audubon in his career.
"The Bird of Washington" is based on an Audubon watercolor executed in 1822 in New Orleans, which is now at the New-York Historical Society. Commonly believed to be a majestic but misidentified portrait of a juvenile Bald Eagle, it has now been convincingly argued by Maruna in an article entitled "Substantiating Audubon's Washington Eagle" that the Bird of Washington was indeed a third species of North American eagle, larger than both the Bald and Golden Eagles, that went extinct or was extripated from all but the most remote regions. This is a fine copy of the Havell issue of this magnificent bird portrait. Audubon saw examples of this large species of sea eagle four times according to his writings, and procured the specimen portrayed himself. Understandably enthusiastic about this rare find, and because he was a fervent patriot, he decided to celebrate the United States and George Washington by naming this noble, independent bird in his honor. There were, however, few subsequent, authoritative sightings. As the Bald Eagle became recognized as the national bird, Audubon's Washington Eagle came to be considered a misidentification and a mistake. This view was aided by professional ornithologists at the time who wished to take Audubon down a few pegs, and who, never having seen one, assumed it could not exist. A standard take on this issue is represented by Halley: "Evidence suggests that the Bird of Washington was an elaborate lie that Audubon concocted to convince members of the English nobility who were sympathetic to American affairs, to subscribe to and promote his work. Audubon rode his Bird of Washington to widespread fame and then actively maintained the ruse for more than 20 years, until his death, fuelling decades of confusion among scientists and the general public." That was the prevailing view of commentators until the recent assertion that the Bird of Washington could have been an unnamed species of sea eagle that has since disappeared. Audubon was familiar with Bald Eagles in all their stages of development, and was unlikely to have confused an immature Bald Eagle with this larger, differently colored bird. And he saw several specimens of the Washington Eagle: male; female; and young, including the one portrayed here, who was examined anatomically. His bold assertion deserves more respect than it has received. Audubon's confidence in his Bird of Washington find is demonstrated by the fact that he issued this print as Plate XI, near the beginning of The Birds of America, in just its third issued fascicle, where it would receive its proper admiration or, failing that, much critical attention. Given the slurry of written accounts of sightings, as well as public accusations of fraudulence, this print has the most convoluted history of all of Audubon's works. Therefore, it is one of the most historically intriguing of Audubon's pieces due to the rich interdisciplinary literature concerning the print and the bird's existence. All of which makes this genuinely impressive picture much more desirable.
Halley, "Audubon's Bird of Washington: Unravelling the Fraud that Launched The Birds of America," Bioone, 06.22.20. Low, A Guide to Audubon's Birds of America, p.35 (second of two variants). Maruna, "Substantiating Audubon's Washington Eagle," Biofort, 10.14.06. Peterson, Audubon's Birds of America, passim.
Item #3644
Price: $15,000.00