Black and Yellow Warbler
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
1945.8.123
Art Historical Context
Behold the vibrant *Black and Yellow Warbler* (1831), a stunning print from John James Audubon's groundbreakingBirds of America*, engraved by Robert Havell Jr. after Audubon's original watercolor. Published during the height of 19th-century natural history fervor, this plate captures the warbler's delicate black-and-yellow plumage and lively perch amid botanicals, exemplifying Audubon's revolutionary approach to avian portraiture. Unlike static scientific illustrations of the era, Audubon's birds burst with dynamic energy, posed as if in mid-flight or song, blending art with empirical observat...
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...