John James AudubonAmerican, 1785–1851Sooty Tern
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Sooty Tern” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Washington, D.C., United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1945.8.235
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
In the life of John James Audubon
The whole lifespring – 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.
summer 1836 – spring 1837
The South and Texas: meeting Sam Houston
In the summer of 1836 Audubon set off for America with his son John; the trip took in South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. In October he was at last able to study Townsend's Columbia River collection, which in his opinion held about 40 new species, and to buy some of the skins; in the spring of 1837 he travelled by water to Galveston Bay, visited Houston and met Sam Houston, president of the Republic of Texas. By then he had lost almost all his teeth, and on the trip he lost 12 pounds.
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