Blue Jay
Medium
hand-colored engraving and aquatint on Whatman wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 65.3 x 55.2 cm (25 11/16 x 21 3/4 in.) sheet: 100 x 67 cm (39 3/8 x 26 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James
Accession Number
1945.8.102
Art Historical Context
This striking print of a Blue Jay belongs to John James Audubon’s landmark series *The Birds of America*, published between 1827 and 1838. Although Audubon created the original watercolor, the engraving was executed by Robert Havell in London, who translated the artist’s dynamic compositions into a format suitable for wide distribution. The 1831 date places the work in the middle of this ambitious project, which sought to document every bird species in North America at life size. The medium of hand-colored engraving and aquatint on luxurious Whatman wove paper was essential to the series’ suc...
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...