Audubon's education was arranged by his father. He was sent to a nearby school and was tutored in mathematics, geography, drawing, music, and fencing. According to Audubon's own account, he had no interest in school, preferring instead to fish, hunt, and explore the outdoors.
He was left with his stepmother most of the time while his father served as a naval officer. Audubon became a spoiled, stubborn youth who managed to resist all efforts to both educate him and keep him under control. When residence at a naval base under his father's direct supervision failed to have any effect, he was sent briefly to Paris to study art, but he disliked that also. Audubon's father decided to send his son to America, where he owned a farm near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At first the boy lived with friends of his father. They tried to teach him English and other things, but after a time he demanded to live on his father's farm. There Audubon continued living the life of a country gentleman—fishing, shooting, and developing his skill at drawing birds, the only occupation to which he was ever willing to give effort.
When Audubon began his work in the early nineteenth century, there was no such profession as a "naturalist" in America. The men who engaged in natural history investigations came from all walks of life and paid for their work—collecting, writing, and publication—from their own resources. Audubon developed a system of inserting wires into the bodies of freshly killed birds in order to move them into natural poses for his sketches. In Audubon returned briefly to France after a long battle with his father's business agent in America.
While in France he formed a business partnership with Ferdinand Rozier, the son of one of his father's associates. Together the two returned to America and tried to operate a lead mine on the farm.
Then in August the partners decided to move west. There followed a series of business failures in various cities in Kentucky, caused largely by Audubon's preference for roaming the woods rather than keeping the store.
During this period he married Lucy Bakewell. After the failures with Rozier, Audubon, in association with his brother-in-law, Thomas Bakewell, and others, attempted to start several more businesses, the last being a lumber mill in Henderson, Kentucky. In this venture failed and Audubon was left with only the clothes on his back, his gun, and his drawings. This disaster ended his business career.
Then he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became a taxidermist one who stuffs and mounts the skins of animals in the Western Museum that had been recently founded by Dr. Daniel Drake. In the possibility of publishing his bird drawings occurred to him.
He set out down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, exploring the country for new birds and paying his expenses by painting portraits. For a while he supported himself in New Orleans by tutoring and painting. His wife also worked as a tutor and later opened a school for girls.
She became the family's main financial support while Audubon focused on publishing his drawings. Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats.
Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk. Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives. Birds Tell Us to Act on Climate Pledge to stand with Audubon to call on elected officials to listen to science and work towards climate solutions. Sign the Pledge. These birds need your help. Get Audubon in Your Inbox Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Email address. Find Audubon Near You Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program. Explore the Network. Become an Audubon Member Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. His journals and Bird Biographies documented his observations of the land that he traveled during the first half of the 19th century, as well as the people of the emerging American nation.
At the age of 20, Audubon gained his father's approval to marry Lucy Bakewell, daughter of William Bakewell, an Englishman who owned Fatland Ford, an estate that adjoined to Mill Grove. After their marriage in , the Audubons moved to Kentucky. Lucy Bakewell was a tower of strength to her husband while he struggled to find his calling.
During the time that Audubon traveled about as a portrait painter, music and fencing instructor and eventually, painter of the Birds of America, Lucy remained at home. She raised their two sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse, and worked intermittently as a teacher. In search of his specimens Audubon would travel extensively throughout the country.
He would travel as far north as Laborador, Canada. He spent time in Key West and the everglades region of the south. And he would travel as far west as what was at that time the Dakota Territory. Audubon's influence on ornithology and natural history was far reaching. Nearly all later ornithological works were inspired by his artistry and high standards. Despite some errors in field observations, he made a significant contribution to the understanding of bird anatomy and behavior through his field notes.
Birds of America is still considered one of the greatest examples of book art. Audubon discovered 25 new species and 12 new subspecies.
Here's a great article with even more information regarding the history of John James Audubon. Your young nature-lover will get the perfect blend of personalized instruction and social interaction, at an affordable cost. Coming to America In , his father obtained a false passport so that Audubon could go to the United States to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic Wars.
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