UW–Madison’s Emily Arthur is the curator of a current exhibition, “Seeing Audubon: Robert Havell Jr. and The Birds of America,” at the Chazen Museum of Art.
Arthur is an artist, printmaker, and associate professor in the School of Education’s Art Department.
The show, which runs Dec. 20 – April 3, showcases Arthur’s research focusing on John James Audubon’s primary printmaker, Robert Havell Jr.
A preview for the exhibition explains:
John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America” has been analyzed by scholars of art history, ornithology, and history of science and mythologized within American frontier history alongside the evocative biography of Audubon himself. It has not been thoroughly considered, however, through the lens of its primary printmaker, Robert Havell Jr., who printed the publication in his London shop between 1827 and 1838. In doing so, Havell Jr. transformed Audubon’s original watercolor studies into the scientific and artistic masterpiece for which Audubon is known today. “Seeing Audubon” presents the ongoing research of artist, printmaker and UW–Madison Associate Professor Emily Arthur as she explores the techniques and methods that Havell Jr. used to print “The Birds of America.” Additionally, two volumes of a complete four-volume set of “The Birds of America” are on view in this exhibition.
Support for the exhibition was provided by the Brittingham Wisconsin Trust. The exhibition includes artworks donated to the University of Wisconsin Foundation by Richard Anderson, MD.
Learn more about “Seeing Audubon” at this page on the Chazen Museum website.