The birdman and the American woodsman

Science and natural history were immensely popular topics in the nineteenth century, and ornithological illustration was particularly prized not only for its scientific value but for its aesthetic qualities as well. John and Elizabeth Gould and John James Audubon were some of the most preeminent ornithologists and illustrators of the Victorian era, and their work is still well-known today. 

This exhibition features several works by the Goulds - one from Birds of Australia, which is also accompanied by a portrait of Queen Victoria and her family, and two from Zoology of the HMS Beagle. There is also one plate from the octavo edition of Audubon’s Birds of America. These plates were all chosen to exemplify particular aspects of the artists’ style and the underlying philosophies and ideas held by the illustrators themselves.