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DESCRIPTION:
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John James Audubon is without rival as the most celebrated American Natural History artist. Audubon devoted his life to realizing his dream of identifying and depicting the birds of North America, and his work has had profound cultural and historical significance. In the second decade of the 19th century, he set out to travel throughout the wilderness of the United States, drawing every notable species of native bird. His remarkable ambition and artistic talent culminated in the publication of the monumental Birds of America betweem 1827 and 1838, a series of 435 aquatints that have only grown in fame since the time of their first appearance. This work established Audubon as an early American artist who could attract European attention, and for many, he personified New World culture and its emerging independent existence.
The American Anhinga, or Black-bellied Darter, as Audubon called it, is a native of the southern swamps and superficially has an appearance similar to a cormorant. Audubon pictured the male bird in its most common daytime position, sitting sunning himself with his wings half spread. He is accompanied by the female Anhinga which can be distinguished by her buff-colored neck and chest. The Anhinga’s broad wing span allows it to attain great height swiftly and yet when in the water it swims low with just its head and neck above the surface.
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