On April 26, 1785, in the Caribbean nation of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), a baby was born to a French sea captain and a chambermaid. He was named Jean-Jacques Audubon, and he would grow up to become John James Audubon - the most famous bird painter who ever lived. As a child in France, he wandered through forests collecting eggs, nests, and feathers, filling sketchbooks with drawings of the birds he watched.
Audubon moved to America at 18 and set himself a wild goal: paint every single bird species in North America, life-sized and in its natural surroundings. He hiked through swamps in Louisiana, paddled rivers in Kentucky, and rode horseback through Texas, sleeping under stars with his sketchbooks and rifles. He used wires to pose freshly collected birds in lifelike positions, then painted them with watercolors and pastels. The work took decades.
The result was 'The Birds of America,' a massive book finished in 1838 with 435 hand-colored prints showing 489 species. The pages were so big - about 3 feet tall - that the book was called a 'double elephant folio.' A complete original copy sold at auction in 2010 for $11.5 million, one of the most expensive books ever. Audubon's vivid paintings inspired generations of birdwatchers, and today the National Audubon Society protects birds and wildlife across the Americas. One curious boy with a sketchbook ended up giving the world its most beloved field guide to feathered things.
