51 - Red Tailed Hawk (SOLD)
SKU:
HE-51
$0.00
per item
Hand-colored engraving with aquatint and etching. Variant 1. Watermark: J Whatman Turkey Mill 1828. A ~4" horizontal tear from the middle of left edge in the white area of the sheet, expertly repaired. Audubon started painting this image in Louisiana.
Audubon wrote: "The continued attachment that exists between Eagles once paired, is not exhibited by these birds, which, after rearing their young, become as shy towards each other as if they had never met. This is carried to such a singular length, that they are seen to chase and rob each other of their prey, on all occasions. I have seen a couple thus engaged, when one of them had just seized a young rabbit or a squirrel, and was on the eve of rising in the air with it, for the purpose of carrying it off to a place of greater security. ........It was after witnessing such an encounter between two of these powerful marauders, fighting hard for a young hare, that I made the drawing now before you, kind reader, in which you perceive the male to have greatly the advantage over the female, although she still holds the hare firmly in one of her talons, even while she is driven towards the earth, with her breast upwards."
Audubon wrote: "The continued attachment that exists between Eagles once paired, is not exhibited by these birds, which, after rearing their young, become as shy towards each other as if they had never met. This is carried to such a singular length, that they are seen to chase and rob each other of their prey, on all occasions. I have seen a couple thus engaged, when one of them had just seized a young rabbit or a squirrel, and was on the eve of rising in the air with it, for the purpose of carrying it off to a place of greater security. ........It was after witnessing such an encounter between two of these powerful marauders, fighting hard for a young hare, that I made the drawing now before you, kind reader, in which you perceive the male to have greatly the advantage over the female, although she still holds the hare firmly in one of her talons, even while she is driven towards the earth, with her breast upwards."
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51 - Red Tailed Hawk
Hand-colored engraving with aquatint and etching.
Variant 1. J Whatman Turkey Mill 1828
Havell Edition, Birds of America
The Havell edition prints are considered as the most desirable of all of Audubon's original art work. During the period 1827 to 1838, Audubon produced the images for his monumental "The Birds of America" (BOA) with the assistance of engravers William Lizars of Scotland for the first few prints and then with Robert Havell, Sr and Jr., in England. These are copper plate engravings (435 plates) printed on high quality wove paper with a watermark (either J. Whatman or J. Whatman Turkey Mill, followed by the year). These plates (commonly referred to as the "Havell Edition") are known for the exquisite and unsurpassed beauty and details in the images, and the fresh vibrant colors. Audubon printed only a small number of the full sets of the BOA (between 175 to 200 copies). Most of these full sets are in museums, and a few in private hands, with only a few loose prints available for purchase by the general public. In the 19th century, some of the owners of these original prints, understandably given the time period and not anticipating how rare Audubon's Havell prints would become, did not pay the utmost attention and care in preserving these precious copperplate engravings; as a result, some prints got trimmed right down to the platemarks (to save on framing expenses), or got destroyed due to exposure to the elements (bleaching from exposure to bright sunlight, smog, smoke etc), and didn't survive or retain the original pristine condition. The rarity of these Havell Edition prints becomes very quickly obvious especially when one is searching for a particular bird print - - they are very difficult to find indeed!
In the 2010 Sotheby's Auction, the Lord Hesketh 4-volume set of Audubon's The Birds of America sold for a record-breaking $11.5 million!
All the plates listed in this section are original full sheets with the Whatman watermark, unless otherwise noted in the description. Please ask for a detailed "Condition Report" for any particular print you might be interested in, before purchasing.
Variant 1. J Whatman Turkey Mill 1828
Havell Edition, Birds of America
The Havell edition prints are considered as the most desirable of all of Audubon's original art work. During the period 1827 to 1838, Audubon produced the images for his monumental "The Birds of America" (BOA) with the assistance of engravers William Lizars of Scotland for the first few prints and then with Robert Havell, Sr and Jr., in England. These are copper plate engravings (435 plates) printed on high quality wove paper with a watermark (either J. Whatman or J. Whatman Turkey Mill, followed by the year). These plates (commonly referred to as the "Havell Edition") are known for the exquisite and unsurpassed beauty and details in the images, and the fresh vibrant colors. Audubon printed only a small number of the full sets of the BOA (between 175 to 200 copies). Most of these full sets are in museums, and a few in private hands, with only a few loose prints available for purchase by the general public. In the 19th century, some of the owners of these original prints, understandably given the time period and not anticipating how rare Audubon's Havell prints would become, did not pay the utmost attention and care in preserving these precious copperplate engravings; as a result, some prints got trimmed right down to the platemarks (to save on framing expenses), or got destroyed due to exposure to the elements (bleaching from exposure to bright sunlight, smog, smoke etc), and didn't survive or retain the original pristine condition. The rarity of these Havell Edition prints becomes very quickly obvious especially when one is searching for a particular bird print - - they are very difficult to find indeed!
In the 2010 Sotheby's Auction, the Lord Hesketh 4-volume set of Audubon's The Birds of America sold for a record-breaking $11.5 million!
All the plates listed in this section are original full sheets with the Whatman watermark, unless otherwise noted in the description. Please ask for a detailed "Condition Report" for any particular print you might be interested in, before purchasing.
