Many are familiar with Audubon’s paintings of North American birds, few are also aware he did 155 illustrations of North America’s 4-legged mammals, “The Quadrupeds.” A complete collection of 155 of the hand colored lithographs will be auctioned by Bonham’s on Oct.18th in New York. The high estimate is $55,000, only a fraction of what the bird paintings sell for.
Aududon undertook arduous expeditions to paint the animals, some of which had never before been illustrated or even named, but they also included more familiar squirrels, buffalos, deer, wolves, a wolverine, a porcupine, and a skunk. His sons and other famous illustrators took part in coloring the lithographs that were sold on a subscription basis over a dozen years in the 1830’s.
Read more at Bonham’s
