Foolish Guillemot
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
1945.8.218
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Foolish Guillemot*, a stunning hand-colored engraving and aquatint from 1834, created by master engraver Robert Havell after the original watercolor by John James Audubon. This print is part of Audubon's monumental *The Birds of America* (1827–1838), the first comprehensive collection of life-sized North American bird illustrations, blending scientific precision with artistic brilliance. Audubon, a self-taught naturalist and artist, captured the guillemot—a plump seabird known for its "foolish" tameness around humans—in dynamic poses amid its rocky Arctic habitat, revolutionizing o...
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...