Bartram Sandpiper
Medium
hand-colored engraving and aquatint on Whatman wove paper
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James
Accession Number
1945.8.303
Art Historical Context
**Bartram Sandpiper**1836) is a stunning plate from John James Audubon's groundbreaking *Birds of America*, most ambitious ornithological project of the 19th century Created after Audubon's original watercolor by master engraver Robert Havell., this print captures the Bartram Sandpiper—now known as the Upland Sandpiper—in a dynamic, life-sized pose amid its natural habitat. Audubon, a self-taught artist and naturalist, revolutionized bird illustration by depicting species in realistic, animated settings rather than stiff, taxonomic poses, blending scientific precision with artistic flair durin...
About the Artist
Robert Havell after John James Audubon
Robert Havell Jr., born on November 25, 1793, in Reading, Berkshire, England, was the son of renowned engraver and publisher Robert Havell Sr. and Lydia Miller Phillips. Growing up in a family of artists that included notable engravers and etchers, he trained under his father, mastering aquatint techniques early on. Though briefly estranged from the family business, Havell reconciled with his fath...