Noddy Tern

Work on Paper

-

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Noddy Tern

Entry/Object ID

5769

Description

Dark brown perched on a bare branch above water looking to the right. Low sea cliffs in the background.

Artwork Details

Medium

Hand-colored lithograph

Context

John J. Audubon’s (1785-1851) book ‘Birds of America’ was originally printed with “Double Elephant folio” engravings, meaning 435 life size images of North American birds. Between 1840 and 1869, several editions of a smaller (“octavo”) version of the book were printed. The prints found in DePaul’s collection are from this later era, and were printed by J.T. Bowen in Philadelphia. Bowen used a “camera lucida” to project the large engravings on lithographic stone which was then hand drawn and hand painted using watercolors. These smaller sized books made Audubon’s work accessible to a wider audience, and helped his art gain the reputation it still holds today.

Acquisition

Accession

5000.89

Source or Donor

Douglas Kenyon

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Collection of DePaul University, Gift of Douglas Kenyon

Made/Created

Artist

Audubon, John J.

Notes

Creation Date: 1840-1869

Lexicon

Legacy Lexicon

Class

WORKS ON PAPER