John James Audubon

Wild Turkey
John James Audubon, 1827
AUDUBON, John James (1785-1851), after. – LIZARS, W.H. and HAVELL, Robert (1793-1878).
Wild Turkey (Plate I)
Meleagris Gallopavo
Variant 3. "Painting and plate depict one large, beautiful bird in a stand of Giant Cane" (Low). The towering format of the elephant folio-size work was dictated by Audubon's long-standing determination that each species be shown life-size, from the wild turkey down to the hummingbird—even if the former had to curve its neck in an elegant arabesque. Along the way, Audubon was sometimes encouraged to scale down his drawings for print, but he never deviated. His commitment to verisimilitude was no mere gimmickry but grounded in a profound connection with the natural world inseparable from his work. As the very first plate in this extraordinary work, the Turkey is particularly difficult to find in attractive condition. The present print is in the third state, after Havell took over the project from Lizars and re-touched this print with aquatint. The first, Lizars issue has no aquatint. This third variant renames the bird "Wild Turkey" as opposed to "Great American Cock Male" in the firs
Engraving with hand-coloring, etching, and aquatint, on watermarked J Whatman paper dated 1836. 982 x 644 mm sheet size. (Plate number trimmed from upper right corner, some very pale mat toning.) Float-mounted, matted and framed.