Long-tailed or Dusky Grous
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
1945.8.361
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking *Long-tailed or Duskyse*, a hand-colored engraving and aquat on Whatman wove paper 1837, crafted by master engraver Robert Havell John James Audubon's original watercolor. This print hails from Audubon's monumental *The Birds of America*, a lavish double-elephant folio serieseach page over 26 inches tall) that revolutionized ornithological illustration. Audubon, a pioneering naturalist and artist, sought to depict every known North American bird in life-size glory, often posing them dramatically amid their habitats to capture their vitality. Havell's virtuoso technique—com...
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...