Explore exquisite ornithological prints in HMNS’ newest #BirdsofAmericaExhibition
Key Points:
• Audubon’s Birds of America opens March 8 at HMNS, and will showcase a rare opportunity to see John James Audubon’s Birds of America, published as a series between 1827 and 1838.
• This famous book features life-sized, colorful illustrations of birds and is considered a landmark work in ornithology.
• The exhibition will include 46 prints from the National Museums Scotland collection, a rare unbound collection, and will explore both the beauty of Audubon’s work and the complexities of his legacy.
HOUSTON, TX—A new exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) will examine the artistry and legacy of one of the world’s rarest, most coveted and biggest books.
Published as a series between 1827 and 1838, Birds of America by John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a landmark work which achieved international renown due to the epic scale of the project and the book’s spectacular, life-sized ornithological illustrations.
Audubon’s Birds of America, opening March 8 at HMNS, is a touring exhibition from National Museums Scotland and will showcase 46 prints from their collection. Displaying a rare unbound collection, this exhibition will be a unique opportunity to see so much of Audubon’s work in one place.
The four volumes which make up Birds of America consist of 435 hand-colored prints. The book was the culmination of Audubon’s ambition to paint every bird species in North America, and is celebrated for its extraordinarily animated, dramatic and detailed illustrations. In order to accommodate life-sized birds, the book was printed on paper which was almost 1m long. Even then, some larger species had to be posed in contorted positions in order to fit them onto the page.
Where his predecessors and contemporaries illustrated birds looking stiff and unnatural, Audubon was pioneering in his depiction of scenes from nature, pinning birds into realistic poses he had observed in life and painting on the spot.
He is traditionally celebrated as the quintessential American woodsman, adventurer and naturalist, who identified over 20 species new to science. His paintings of the natural world are some of the most famous in the history of art and natural sciences.
Audubon’s story, however, is full of contradiction and controversy, and the exhibition will look at both the legend which built up around him and the more complex, problematic realities. He profited from the ownership of enslaved people and showed disdain towards the abolitionist movement, aspects of his story which have been overlooked until recently. His scientific standing is also disputed, with accusations of completely fabricating some species and he certainly made errors in his identification of birds.
National Museums Scotland’s touring exhibition will also explore Audubon’s links with the scientific and artistic community in late-Enlightenment Edinburgh, where the process of publishing the book began. He visited Edinburgh six times, including research visits to what is now the National Museum of Scotland itself. The exhibition will bring the story up to the present day, looking at the conservation status of some of the species featured in Birds of America.
“Audubon’s Birds of America will transport our visitors to the vibrant world of John James Audubon and the wildlife of America as he personally witnessed in the early 1800s. Visitors will explore his greatest achievements, and the enduring complexities of his legacy, through the lens of his ‘Great Work’ – the rarest, most beautiful, and most valuable volumes ever produced,” said HMNS President and CEO, Joel A. Bartsch. “This exhibition presents a rare opportunity to experience the awe-inspiring details, vibrantly colored images, and life-sized renderings that Audubon singlehandedly willed into being through his unbridled creativity, matchless ambition, and indefatigable efforts.”
Audubon’s Birds of America will be on display beginning March 8. For ticket prices or more information, visit our website at www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629.
Audubon’s Birds of America is produced by National Museums Scotland in partnership with the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Lead underwriting is provided by the John P. McGovern Foundation
in memory of Kathrine G. McGovern.
Additional support is provided by Woodforest National Bank.
About Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science—one of the nation’s most heavily attended museums—is a centerpiece of the Houston Museum District. With four floors of permanent exhibit halls, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and George Observatory and as host to world-class and ever-changing touring exhibitions, the Museum has something to delight every age group. With such diverse and extraordinary offerings, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Drive in the heart of the Museum District, is always an adventure.
About National Museums Scotland
National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in the UK and Europe and it looks after collections of national and international importance. The organisation provides loans, partnerships, research and training in Scotland and internationally. Our individual museums are the National Museum of Scotland, the National Museum of Flight, the National Museum of Rural Life and the National War Museum. The National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh houses conservation and research facilities as well as collections not currently on display.
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