Audubon, << AW duh `bon,` >> John James (1785-1851), was one of the first to study and paint the birds of North America. His lifelike paintings of birds in their natural surroundings brought him fame and fortune.
His life.
Audubon’s diaries and letters created a mystery about his background and parentage, but records indicate that he was born Jean Rabin on April 26, 1785, at Les Cayes, Santo Domingo (now Haiti). His mother, a French chambermaid, died soon after his birth. Records show that his father, a French sea captain named Jean Audubon, remarried in France, and Jean Rabin soon joined him.
Audubon and his wife legally adopted the boy when he was 8 years old. These records disprove claims by Audubon’s descendants, derived from passages in his diaries and letters, that Audubon was the lost dauphin —that is, the missing heir to the French throne.
In 1803, Captain Audubon sent the youth to live at Mill Grove, his estate near Philadelphia. There, young John James, as he was now called, spent much time drawing birds. He and Ferdinand Rozier opened a general store in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1807. Audubon married a Mill Grove neighbor, Lucy Bakewell, the next year. He failed in several business ventures. While Rozier conducted their business, Audubon wandered through the countryside looking for birds. His business career ended in 1819 when he was jailed for debt. He entered a plea of bankruptcy to gain his freedom.
In 1820, Audubon conceived the idea of publishing a collection of paintings of North American birds. His family followed him to Louisiana, where he painted birds in their natural surroundings. His wife worked as a governess and teacher to support the family. Audubon drew portraits and taught music and drawing.
His works.
Unable to find an American publisher, Audubon went to England and Scotland in 1826. His pictures created a sensation, and a British publisher brought out Birds of America (1827-1838), which was a work of 87 parts containing 435 life-sized, colored engravings made from his water colors. Audubon and William MacGillivray, a Scottish naturalist, wrote a text, Ornithological Biography (1831-1839).
Audubon returned to the United States in 1839 and worked on American editions of his bird paintings. Later, Audubon worked with John Bachman on The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1842-1854). Audubon made his last collecting trip, along the Missouri River, in 1843. He died on Jan. 27, 1851.
