Barn Swallow

1833 · Print

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 3 days ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

Particulars

Accession number: 1945.8.173

What it shows

Bird Writing Wood

In the catalog

Prints Engraving Romanticism 19th century American

Sources

National Gallery of Art
Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access

Meanwhile, in the life of John James Audubon

The whole life

1831
Elected to the American academies: fame on both sides of the ocean
In 1831, while Ord was in England, Audubon was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which had earlier refused him, and the American Philosophical Society. By then he was a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic, and the newspapers tracked his movements.
1831
Back to America: a plan to reach the Pacific
Having finished the first volume of “The Birds of America” and left the publication of the second to John George Children, Audubon and his wife left the British Isles in 1831: he needed birds again. He planned to visit Florida, Mexico and perhaps California and to reach the mouth of the Columbia River, but the speed and cost of travel in Florida made him limit himself to the Atlantic coast.
October 1831
Charleston: meeting John Bachman
In October 1831 at Charleston Audubon met John Bachman, who was interested in ornithology and a good shot: his huge house had a separate room for a taxidermist. Bachman's sister-in-law Maria Martin lived there, and Audubon hired her to paint background details; it was then that they agreed on a future book on quadrupeds.
spring – summer 1833
The Labrador expedition
In the spring of 1833 Audubon set out for Labrador with his son John Woodhouse and several young assistants to observe water birds in breeding plumage. The trip was not very successful, yielding 23 drawings and 73 prepared birds besides a collection of sea animals and plants, but a nest of the blackpoll warbler that he found, in his words, paid for the whole journey.
1835
The critic John Neal questions his honesty
Audubon failed to credit the work of Joseph Mason, which prompted a series of articles in 1835 by the critic John Neal questioning Audubon's honesty and trustworthiness.