: Soon to become a rite of spring for bird-loving New Yorkers, the
New-York Historical Society will open its multimedia exhibition
"Audubon's Aviary" March 17; it will be on view through May 7.
With 433 of the 435 preparatory plates for John James Audubon's
(1785-1851) Birds of America (1827-1838) in its permanent
collection, the society's is the largest single repository of
Audubonalia in the world. Because of their extreme fragility, the
watercolors can be exhibited only once every ten years, and then
only for only a few weeks. Each spring, a new grouping of 40
Audubon masterpieces will be brought out of hibernation to create
a unique tableau, and then they will disappear into
environmentally controlled storage, not to be seen by the public
for another decade.
Also on display this year will be Audubon's rendering of the
ivory-billed woodpecker, whose extinction/existence is the
subject of hot debate in ornithological circles. Other
inhabitants of the 2006 "virtual aviary" (most of which can be
spotted in the Northeast this time of year) are the dickcissel,
the rufous-sided towhee (now known as the Eastern towhee), the
seaside sparrow, the magpie jay, the marsh wren, the Eastern
meadowlark, the wood duck, the sand hill crane, the American
bittern, the common redpoll, the stilt sandpiper, the great egret
and a newly restored ruby-throated hummingbird.
Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus), circa 1822, watercolor,
graphite, oil, collage, pastel, charcoal, and black ink with
selective glazing on paper, laid on thin board; 25 1/16 by 38
9/16 inches.
The 2006 flock of Audubon watercolors will be accompanied by
a soundscape of bird calls, video, and four newly discovered
Sixteenth Century avian illustrations by Pierre Eskrich. Created in
1554, they are believed to be the historical bridge between
classical and modern ornithology, and a likely source of
inspiration to Audubon.
"These illustrations can be considered a lost link between
classical antiquity's ideas about avian species and modern
ornithology," says exhibit curator Roberta J.M. Olson. "Produced
in the service of science, but works of art in their own right,
Eskrich's watercolors were an important influence on Audubon,"
Olson said. "They help reveal Audubon's stunning innovation."
A new sound technology produced by Charles Morrow Associates,
Inc, will fill the exhibit space with the sounds of bird calls,
creating for exhibit goers the impression that birds are flying
overhead. Birdcalls provided by Cornell's ornithological lab will
include the sound of the whooping crane, red-bellied woodpecker,
red-shouldered hawk and the great gray owl.
Rarely seen daguerreotype images of Audubon, a piece of flooring
form his home in what is now the Washington Heights section of
Manhattan, a tipping purse, letters in his own hand and other
objects that provide insight into Audubon will also be part of
the exhibit.
The New-York Historical Society is at 170 Central Park West. For
information, 212-873-3400.
Ivory billed woodpecker, (shown left) 1826, watercolor, 38 by
25 inches and marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris), 1829,
watercolor.
