Red-cockaded Woodpecker
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
1945.8.389
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking *Red-cockaded Woodcker*, a 1837 hand-colored engraving aquatint on Whatman wove paper crafted by Robert Havell after the visionary naturalist John James Audubon This print is Plate 66 from Audubon's epic *The Birds of America* (1827–1838), a landmark publication that brought life-sized depictions of over 400 North American bird species to an eager public. Audubon's revolutionary style—dynamic poses amid natural habitats—elevated ornithological art from stiff scientific diagrams to vivid, almost portrait-like celebrations of wildlife, influencing generations of artists and c...
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...