Observing and drawing the American Snipe on the grounds of a South Carolina plantation near Charleston, Audubon wrote: "In South Carolina … the grounds of the riceplanter afford it abundance of food. In some fields well known to my Charleston friends, as winter retreats of the snipe, it is shot in great numbers ... In such places I have found these birds by fifties and hundreds in fields of a few acres ... While traving eastward from Charleston, in the month of March, I found this Snipe perhaps more abundant near the Santee River than anywhere else."

Framing your Audubons

About John James Audubon

The 435 paintings in Audubon's Birds of America constitute the most important achievement of ornithological art.

Audubon combined artistic and scientific talent to produce images that are as beautiful as they are important for their recording of carefully observed ornithological detail. His unprecedented use of richly rendered natural environmental detail created striking contexts for his gracefully composed birds — all of which are presented in actual life size. Each image has the feel of a snapshot that captures a living moment.

Audubon's passion for ornithological discovery and observation led him to explore large swaths of 1820s and 1830s America, especially throughout the South and the Ohio River valley. In 1826 he brought his enormous folio of large-scale paintings to London where, from 1827 — 1838, they were engraved by Robert Havell & Son and hand-colored in an edition of approximately 200. King George IV of England, King Charles I of France, Daniel Webster and many important museums and institutions of higher learning were among the subscribers to this original publication.

Each Perfect Recreation™ is made from an exceptionally well-preserved Havell aquatint with rich, original hand color.

If you'd like to know a lot more about Audubon, there are two wonderful biographies available at Amazon.com:
Click here to buy John James Audubon: The Making of an American
Click here to buy Under a Wild Sky: Making of The Birds of America