Lot Essay
RELATED WORKS:
Canada Goose (1863.17.201), watercolor on paper, begun circa 1821 completed circa 1833, (38 x 25 7/8 in. sight), The New-York Historical Society
RELATED LITERATURE:
J.J. Audubon, The Birds of America, London, 1827-1838, Plate CCI, Canada Goose--Branta canadensis
John James Audubon's The Birds of America (1827-1838) stands as one of the great achievements of American art and one of the most important documents of natural history. A rare autograph variant of a watercolor in the New-York Historical Society used to engrave The Birds of America, Canada Goose was executed by Audubon for Robert Gould Shaw, a prominent Bostonian and original subscriber to Audubon's great opus.
Audubon most likely executed Canada Goose while living in Boston around 1832-33 and preparing for a trip to Labrador. The related watercolor in the Historical Society, Canada Goose (1863.17.201) was probably begun in 1821 and finished in February 1833 in Boston, after which it was engraved in London by Robert Havell, Jr. and published in 1834 as Plate CCI in the third volume of The Birds of America. Audubon probably executed the present lot Canada Goose soon after finishing Canada Goose (1863.17.201).
Canada Goose differs slightly from the watercolor in the Historical Society and Plate CCI of The Birds of America. The present lot depicts the pair of geese in a marshy setting with reeds and grasses in the foreground and background, whereas the Historical Society example and Plate CCI include a rock in the foreground and fewer reeds that are of a different variety. Furthermore Canada Goose includes more fully developed atmospheric effects in the sky.
Canada Goose has a history of distinguished ownership in Boston. The watercolor was acquired directly from Audubon by Robert Gould Shaw, the grandfather of the heroic Civil War colonel of the same name who was memorialized by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the great Shaw Memorial (1884-97) that stands on the Boston Common. The Shaws were among Boston's well-to-do intellectual and social elite, and Robert Gould Shaw was one of the original subscribers to The Birds of America, thus he was familiar with Audubon's project and was in a position to acquire a work directly from the artist.
While living in Boston Audubon was actively seeking subscriptions for The Birds of America, which he received from Harvard College, the Boston Athenaeum, and others including Daniel Webster. The artist is known to have executed variants of his watercolors for particular patrons either as gifts or favors. Canada Goose is particularly unusual because of its double-elephant size -- most watercolors that Audubon presented as gifts were smaller and usually depicted songbirds. The precise details of Shaw's acquisition of Canada Goose are unknown. Audubon may have executed such an impressive piece because Shaw was an influential Bostonian and a prospective subscriber or Shaw may have requested this particular image, perhaps having seen Canada Goose (1863.17.201) when the artist was completing it in February 1833.
In May 1833 Audubon departed from Eastport, Maine for the Labrador coast together with a group of Bostonians, including Dr. George Shattuck, Joseph Coolidge, Thomas Lincoln and William Ingalls. The trip was made with the intention of procuring specimens and making drawings for the continuing project of The Birds of America, and at the time Audubon noted that he saw numerous Canada geese. The artist may have inscribed the work sometime after completing it, as the artist's journals indicate that he was in Labrador from late May until August of 1833, although he stopped briefly in Boston after the excursion to Labrador on his return to New York.
Canada Goose can be dated no earlier than 1831, as the paper is watermarked 'WHATMAN 1831.' Audubon most likely initially conceived the Historical Society Canada Goose (1863.17.201) around 1821, when he began to develop compositional formats for larger species such as hawks, owls and shorebirds. While living in Boston and preparing works to be engraved for the third volume of The Birds of America that would appear in 1834, Audubon may have reworked or added elements to the Historical Society watercolor and at the same time executed Canada Goose.
Shaw family history includes an anecdote that Daniel Webster shot a pair of geese while on a hunting trip with a guide named Alonzo Nye, who was employed by the Shaws as well. Webster reportedly presented the birds to Audubon, who used them as models for his picture. This is highly improbable however, as the story is not consistent with Audubon's working practices, furthermore, the initial conception of Canada Goose (1863.17.201) probably dates around 1821.
Audubon depicted his subjects for The Birds of America situated within their natural habitat. Unlike most ornithological treatises that preceded Audubon's great work, The Birds of America portrayed the birds as living organisms within what the artist called "the Creator's sublime system." Audubon based his depictions of the birds' habitats on keen observation and rendered them with exacting accuracy. A.W.R. Meyers has observed, "A sense of immediacy and direct experience is conveyed through virtually all of Audubon's depictions of birds, even those portrayed in the most remote habitats and the most inaccessible environments." (A.W.R. Meyers, John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America, The New-York Historical Society, New York, 1993, p. 47)
Audubon has depicted the Canada geese with the gander standing in the foreground between the viewer and the female, who rests quietly behind him. As he raises his head and hisses, he seems to protect his mate in much the same way that Audubon himself described the geese's habits: "Whenever you find them, and however remote from the haunts of man the place may be, they are at all times so vigilant and suspicious, that it is extremely rare to surprise them . . . They act as sentinels towards each other, and during the hours at which the flock reposes, one or more ganders stands on the watch." (The Ornithological Biography, Edinburgh, 1831-39)
Canada Goose (1863.17.201), watercolor on paper, begun circa 1821 completed circa 1833, (38 x 25 7/8 in. sight), The New-York Historical Society
RELATED LITERATURE:
J.J. Audubon, The Birds of America, London, 1827-1838, Plate CCI, Canada Goose--Branta canadensis
John James Audubon's The Birds of America (1827-1838) stands as one of the great achievements of American art and one of the most important documents of natural history. A rare autograph variant of a watercolor in the New-York Historical Society used to engrave The Birds of America, Canada Goose was executed by Audubon for Robert Gould Shaw, a prominent Bostonian and original subscriber to Audubon's great opus.
Audubon most likely executed Canada Goose while living in Boston around 1832-33 and preparing for a trip to Labrador. The related watercolor in the Historical Society, Canada Goose (1863.17.201) was probably begun in 1821 and finished in February 1833 in Boston, after which it was engraved in London by Robert Havell, Jr. and published in 1834 as Plate CCI in the third volume of The Birds of America. Audubon probably executed the present lot Canada Goose soon after finishing Canada Goose (1863.17.201).
Canada Goose differs slightly from the watercolor in the Historical Society and Plate CCI of The Birds of America. The present lot depicts the pair of geese in a marshy setting with reeds and grasses in the foreground and background, whereas the Historical Society example and Plate CCI include a rock in the foreground and fewer reeds that are of a different variety. Furthermore Canada Goose includes more fully developed atmospheric effects in the sky.
Canada Goose has a history of distinguished ownership in Boston. The watercolor was acquired directly from Audubon by Robert Gould Shaw, the grandfather of the heroic Civil War colonel of the same name who was memorialized by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the great Shaw Memorial (1884-97) that stands on the Boston Common. The Shaws were among Boston's well-to-do intellectual and social elite, and Robert Gould Shaw was one of the original subscribers to The Birds of America, thus he was familiar with Audubon's project and was in a position to acquire a work directly from the artist.
While living in Boston Audubon was actively seeking subscriptions for The Birds of America, which he received from Harvard College, the Boston Athenaeum, and others including Daniel Webster. The artist is known to have executed variants of his watercolors for particular patrons either as gifts or favors. Canada Goose is particularly unusual because of its double-elephant size -- most watercolors that Audubon presented as gifts were smaller and usually depicted songbirds. The precise details of Shaw's acquisition of Canada Goose are unknown. Audubon may have executed such an impressive piece because Shaw was an influential Bostonian and a prospective subscriber or Shaw may have requested this particular image, perhaps having seen Canada Goose (1863.17.201) when the artist was completing it in February 1833.
In May 1833 Audubon departed from Eastport, Maine for the Labrador coast together with a group of Bostonians, including Dr. George Shattuck, Joseph Coolidge, Thomas Lincoln and William Ingalls. The trip was made with the intention of procuring specimens and making drawings for the continuing project of The Birds of America, and at the time Audubon noted that he saw numerous Canada geese. The artist may have inscribed the work sometime after completing it, as the artist's journals indicate that he was in Labrador from late May until August of 1833, although he stopped briefly in Boston after the excursion to Labrador on his return to New York.
Canada Goose can be dated no earlier than 1831, as the paper is watermarked 'WHATMAN 1831.' Audubon most likely initially conceived the Historical Society Canada Goose (1863.17.201) around 1821, when he began to develop compositional formats for larger species such as hawks, owls and shorebirds. While living in Boston and preparing works to be engraved for the third volume of The Birds of America that would appear in 1834, Audubon may have reworked or added elements to the Historical Society watercolor and at the same time executed Canada Goose.
Shaw family history includes an anecdote that Daniel Webster shot a pair of geese while on a hunting trip with a guide named Alonzo Nye, who was employed by the Shaws as well. Webster reportedly presented the birds to Audubon, who used them as models for his picture. This is highly improbable however, as the story is not consistent with Audubon's working practices, furthermore, the initial conception of Canada Goose (1863.17.201) probably dates around 1821.
Audubon depicted his subjects for The Birds of America situated within their natural habitat. Unlike most ornithological treatises that preceded Audubon's great work, The Birds of America portrayed the birds as living organisms within what the artist called "the Creator's sublime system." Audubon based his depictions of the birds' habitats on keen observation and rendered them with exacting accuracy. A.W.R. Meyers has observed, "A sense of immediacy and direct experience is conveyed through virtually all of Audubon's depictions of birds, even those portrayed in the most remote habitats and the most inaccessible environments." (A.W.R. Meyers, John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America, The New-York Historical Society, New York, 1993, p. 47)
Audubon has depicted the Canada geese with the gander standing in the foreground between the viewer and the female, who rests quietly behind him. As he raises his head and hisses, he seems to protect his mate in much the same way that Audubon himself described the geese's habits: "Whenever you find them, and however remote from the haunts of man the place may be, they are at all times so vigilant and suspicious, that it is extremely rare to surprise them . . . They act as sentinels towards each other, and during the hours at which the flock reposes, one or more ganders stands on the watch." (The Ornithological Biography, Edinburgh, 1831-39)