We love all things Bugs & Beasts and with loads of images to choose from The Natural History Museum Collection is the obvious destination. From fabulous flamingos to stunning snakes, you can expect lots of unusual and breath-taking imagery from this Museum.
Perhaps our favourites from the collection come from bird artist John James Audubon. Captured in exquisite colours, the richness of the paintings have impressively maintained over 100 years later. His most notable work, the book ‘Birds of America’ contained detailed sketches of some of the most exotic birds. He identified an astonishing 25 new species and it is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed.
'American White Pelican' Mural | Natural History Museum
Although not the first artist to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of America, Audubon’s accumulation of 435 life size paintings quickly found valued recognition and continues to be the standard to which today’s bird artists are measured.
Born as the illegitimate son of a sea captain and his mistress, John James was raised by his stepmother Mrs Audubon in Saint Domingue, France. From an early age he showed a keen interest in drawing, nature and birds, little did he know that this would form his most renowned body of work.
'Roseate Spoonbill' Mural | Natural History Museum
As an adult Audubon spent more than a decade as a businessman and set up a dry-goods store in Henderson. It is here that Audubon met his wife Lucy and had two sons. His drawing was relegated to a hobby whilst he concentrated on his business and supporting his new found family. Although fairly successful, Audubon hit on hard times and was briefly jailed in 1819 for bankruptcy.
It was after this that Audubon set off on a quest to depict America’s avifauna. Armed with only the bare necessities – his gun, artist’s materials and a young assistant, Audubon lived a simple existence.
However in 1826, Audubon’s hardship was rewarded as he took his partly finished collection to England. Audubon achieved what many others could only dream of and became an overnight success. He began collaborating with printers and ornithologists and by 1838 when the last print was issued, Audubon had achieved fame and a modest degree of luxury.
'Greater Flamingo' Mural | Natural History Museum
Audubon’s paintings continue to captivate audiences of all ages. His immense talent maintains his reputation as one of the most successful bird artists in history. Click here to take a look at the full collection.