Cock of the Plains
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
1945.8.371
Art Historical Context
Step into the vivid world of 19th-century American ornithology with *Cock of the Plains*, stunning hand-colored engraving and aquint created by Robert Havell after John James Audubon in1837. This print part of Audubon's legendary *The Birds of America*, a monumental double-elephant folio series (1827–1838) that captured life-sized depictions of over 400 North American bird species. Audubon, a pioneering naturalist and artist, posed his subjects in dramatic, naturalistic scenes to highlight their habitats and behaviors, revolutionizing scientific illustration with artistic flair. Havell's mast...
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...