Customer Reviews

John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America

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Excellent scholarly work that explains and shows what Audubon did, and how he did it. As a collector of original Audubon Havell prints, I found the introductory chapters to be informative, readable and very helpful. Wonderful explanations of his technique. About eighty of the plates are rendered nearly full size in this large book. The other 390 are included in an index as full-color 3 X 4 prints. All of the 435 original "Birds of America" images are in this book as well as quite a few other Audubon watercolors that were never syndicated for printing. There are several appendices including one that lists the actual size of each watercolor. Very helpful to a collector. I especially enjoy comparing Audubon's original watercolor paintings depicted in this book, with the large, excellent renderings of the Havell prints in "Audubon Birds of America" by Tim Parmentor, also available from Amazon. My one tiny complaint is that all of the color images are designated by the Roman numerals that Audubon assigned to them. Pain in the neck. Great gift book for both art students and birdwatchers.

That John James Audubon was America's foremost naturalist there can be no doubt. That John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America, published by Villard Books in association with the New York Historical Society, is a landmark publication there should be no doubt.

A companion volume to a museum exhibition, this magnificent presentation of 470 color illustrations is a significant contribution to the worlds of art, nature and ornithology. In addition to the stunningly reproduced art, the volume contains four excellent articles: Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. examines Audubon's artistic development; Annette Blaugrund discusses his skills as an entrepreneur; Amy Meyers presents Audubon as a naturalist; and Reba Fishman Snyder sheds light on the technical aspects of the watercolors.

John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America is a superb representation of the works of an artist and naturalist who knows no peer.

- Gail Cooke

You really could frame this as prints when you are finished with calendar. I have done this before and they turn out beautifully! Everybody comments on these calendars - I get them every year.

I was happy to find this older edition of John James Audubon: the watercolors of Birds of America for gift for my husband. I looked at Barnes and Noble, but they had a newer copy made in China that did not cover as much information and paper quality was not good. Wish I had purchased a newer book that was not so "used". This book is a keeper.