Key-west Dove
Medium
hand-colored engraving and aquatint on Whatman wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 51.3 x 65.4 cm (20 3/16 x 25 3/4 in.) sheet: 67.6 x 99.7 cm (26 5/8 x 39 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James
Accession Number
1945.8.167
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Key-West Dove*, a exquisite hand-colored engraving and aquatint on Whatman wove paper, crafted in 1833 by master printer Robert Havell after John James Audubon's original watercolor. This monumental print, measuring an impressive plate size of 51.3 x 65.4 cm (sheet: 67.6 x 99.7 cm), captures the delicate beauty of the Key West dove—a species native to the Florida Keys—in life-like detail. It hails from Audubon's groundbreaking *The Birds of America* (1827–1838), a double-elephant folio series that revolutionized natural history illustration by blending scientific precision with art...
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...