Rare collection of bird illustrations to go on display at Houston Museum of Natural Science
February 12, 2025 | In the PressA new exhibition featuring a rare collection of prints is coming to the Houston Museum of Natural Science next month.
The Audubon's Birds of America exhibition will feature 46 prints from Nation Museums Scotland's collection. Birds of America is a series that was published from 1827 to 1838 in which John James Audubon attempted to paint every bird species in North America. The full four volumes contain 435 hand-colored prints.
The exhibition will go on display on March 8.
HMNS said the collection is "celebrated for its extraordinarily animated, dramatic and detailed illustrations." The original book was printed on paper that was nearly a meter long to accommodate the life-sized depictions.
"Even then, some larger species had to be posed in contorted positions in order to fit them onto the page," HMNS said.
The museum said Audubon's illustrations were an advancement from his predecessors, depicting the birds in realistic poses he had observed.
The exhibition will also dive into Audubon's controversial past.
"The exhibition will look at both the legend which built up around him and the more complex, problematic realities," HMNS said.
The museum said Audubon profited from the ownership of slaves and was against the abolitionist movement. They said these aspects of his life have been largely overlooked.
Another aspect of the exhibition will be a look into his standing in the scientific community. The museum said Audubon is accused of completely fabricating some species, "and he certainly made errors in his identification of birds."
For more information on the exhibition or to purchase tickets, visit HMNS's website (opens in a new window).
