National Portrait Gallery | Face to Face blog

The Death of John James Audubon: January 27, 1851

He killed thousands of birds and cruelly experimented on many animals, including catfish, a bald eagle, and his very own hunting dog. With friends, he buried a rat in a pot, its tail protruding from the dirt, and gave the complete ensemble to another friend, claiming it was a rare flower. He served jail time for bankruptcy and knifed a man in Kentucky over ownership of a steamboat.

Today, his drawings and paintings of American wildlife are respected worldwide, and his name is synonymous with environmental concern and wildlife preservation. A true enigma, John James Audubon was not even his name until he came to America in 1803 to look after his father’s business.

Audubon, born Jean Rabin in Saint-Domingue in 1785, was something of a liar from the beginning; he told others falsely and often that he studied painting with Jacques-Louis David. Artistically and professionally, Audubon struggled to gain acceptance into the strict company of American and British scientific academies.

Although Audubon’s technique of moving nature from the outdoors to the canvas was well within the realm of the acceptable in the early nineteenth century, today his process would be anathema to the society that now bears his name.

According to Audubon biographer William Souder, “At one time or another, Audubon killed specimens of all but a handful of the more than four hundred species of birds he ultimately painted, plus most of the quadrupeds of North America, from squirrels to alligators to moose.”

Simple enough to describe, his process was to kill, clean, position, and paint. One difference, however, between Audubon and his contemporary, Alexander Wilson, is that Audubon portrayed his ornithological subject matter at life size.

A second difference is that Audubon posed his birds in nature, conducting activities that he had either imagined or witnessed. For example, his Black Vulture appears to be eating the flesh of a deer carcass, while his female Great Cormorant is portrayed tending her young through tall grass.

With the exception of the display of birds in the Peale Museum in Philadelphia, wildlife work for the scientific community was usually posed and drawn on a small scale and without the aesthetic benefit of habitat, weather, and fauna in the forms of prey or predator.

By 1823, Audubon was living in Louisiana, drawing and teaching, having amassed great debt but also having assembled a vast portfolio of American wildlife art. When he arrived in Philadelphia in 1824, he hoped his art would receive acclaim, but his work was received poorly by the Academy of Natural Sciences and George Ord, a friend of the late Alexander Wilson. As Souder states, “Against Ord’s energetic opposition to him throughout the city and the orchestrated campaign to prevent his election to the academy, Audubon never had a chance.”

His work was well received throughout Britain, however. The Scots elected him to the elite scientific Wernerian Society in 1827, and he was elected to the Royal Society in London in 1830.

These successes coincided with the publication of Audubon’s most lasting achievement—what he called his “great work,” The Birds of America, containing 435 hand-colored images and distributed in 87 parts. A stunning achievement, also recognized in the United States, the publication of The Birds of America eventually propelled Audubon into the ranks of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1831, seven years after his initial rejection.

Audubon spent most of his last decade in New York, having succumbed to various illnesses, and died there on January 27, 1851. He is buried in Trinity Church Cemetery at 155^th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.

—Warren Perry, Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery

 

Cited:
William Souder, Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of “The Birds of America (New York: North Point Press, 2004).

 

John James Audubon / Unidentified artist /  Oil on canvas, c. 1841 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the Avalon Foundation through the generosity of Ailsa Mellon Bruce, 1951

 

 

Pop Quiz Trivia: From Rags to Riches, Thursday, January 26

 

While walking through the halls of the National Portrait Gallery you will find countless examples of people in the collection who came from humble beginnings, but through perseverance and determination built very successful lives. For example, did you know that Cary Grant (above) was homeless as an adolescent and performed for circuses before finally making it big as an actor? These sorts of rags-to-riches stories are the foundation of the American Dream.  

Come test your knowledge on Thursday, January 26, at 6:30 p.m., when the National Portrait Gallery will be hosting our collections-inspired trivia game, Pop Quiz, in the Kogod Courtyard. This month’s theme, “From Rags to Riches,” is centered on our collection of portraits featuring American icons who have overcome adversity and have gone on to have find success as artists, athletes, musicians, authors, and entrepreneurs.

Here is a sneak peek look at the 10-point bonus question for this month’s Pop Quiz:

LeBron James was born to a single mother in Akron, Ohio. For much of his childhood, James’s family struggled financially and was forced to move frequently. James received international fame playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and has won several of basketball’s highest honors, such as being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Before James played a single NBA game, he famously signed a deal with Nike for how much?

A) $35 million

B) $67 million

C) $75 million

D) More than $90 million

Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase in the Courtyard Café.

Pop Quiz trivia is played once a month in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard in the National Portrait Gallery. The next Pop Quiz is “Road Trip USA” on Wednesday, February 22, at 6:30 p.m. DJ Micah Vellian begins to play tunes at 5:00 p.m.

—Claire Lucas, Public Programs Intern, National Portrait Gallery

 

Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, Claude Rains / Morini / Print, c. 1950 / Color photolithographic poster with halftone / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

LeBron James / Michael O'Brien / Gelatin silver print, 2002 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Bill and Sally Wittliff, © Michael O'Brien

Staff Profile: Molly Grimsley, Registrar

Q: What is your job title and what do you do at the National Portrait Gallery?

A: I am the registrar for exhibitions and loans. I deal mostly with artwork coming into the Portrait Gallery for special exhibitions or inclusion in permanent exhibitions, as well as work we lend to other museums. The Registrar’s Office works very closely with the Conservation and Design & Production departments to ensure the artwork is maintained safely and securely.

When NPG borrows or lends artwork, with conservation and curatorial input, I negotiate loan agreements, setting in place the legal, conservation, packing and shipping, insurance, and art handling requirements that have to be adhered to.

Working with other NPG conservators, other museums, art packers, craters, and shippers, I coordinate the special packing and shipping needs—I’m a travel agent for artwork. When we ship artwork overseas, I work closely with customs brokers and freight forwarders to ensure that all of the import or export documents and permits are in place.

Sometimes I courier artwork, which means I travel with it to the borrowing museum, ensuring its safety during transit. Upon arrival, I oversee its unpacking and installation. Along with our art-handling staff, I unpack and condition-report artwork for the Portrait Gallery’s special exhibitions and coordinate de-installations.

Q: Where did you attend college, and how did you train to do what you do?

A: I have a studio art degree with an emphasis in drawing and design from George Mason University. By studying visual art, I gained knowledge about various art mediums and how works of art are constructed. This helps me greatly in my job as we complete what’s called “condition reports” on every artwork that enters and leaves the Portrait Gallery.

These reports document, by photography and the written word, any sort of damages, problems, or weaknesses that the artwork contains. When it leaves NPG’s custody, the artwork is examined again to ensure there aren’t any new problems. 

I also gained knowledge and hands-on experience on the job; out of college I began working as a volunteer in art storage at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where I was mentored by a wonderful staff member. This led to a permanent position in their Registrar’s Office, which eventually led to becoming the assistant registrar at the National Museum of African Art. This led me to the Portrait Gallery. 

Q: What is your favorite object in the collection and why?

A: I have two favorites: the John Singleton Copley self-portrait (right) is one of them. It’s a beautifully painted portrait—very romantic and delicate—and it captures an otherworldly mood. Also, I like our portrait of Pocahontas for personal reasons.

Q: Do you have a favorite NPG story you would like to share?

A: I’ve been so fortunate in that through my position at NPG, I’ve traveled to wonderful places, made friends with colleagues all over the world, met famous people, and have physically touched incredible art that you see in art history books.

One favorite story is when NPG borrowed the Oscar that director Vincent Minnelli won for Gigi from his wife for our “Red, Hot, and Blue” exhibition. I traveled to Beverly Hills, where I visited Mrs. Minnelli’s house (was escorted through the servants’ door!). She regaled me with wonderful old Hollywood stories as I packed the Oscar in her living room filled with photographs and memorabilia of Hollywood stars and politicians past and present.

After I finished, she gave me a tour of the house, ending in Vincent Minnelli’s bedroom, which she had left exactly as it was when he died—his glasses on his desk, robe on the bed, slippers on the floor, book opened, exercise bike in the middle of the room—it was like a Hollywood set.

I hand-carried the Oscar from LA to DC via a commercial airline; we had to buy an additional seat for the Oscar, which sat next to me for the five-hour flight. No one else on the plane knew there was an Oscar on board; discretion is one of the main tenets of a museum career. 

More recently I traveled to Moscow, Russia, to oversee the deinstallation and packing of two paintings the Portrait Gallery lent to an exhibition at the Russian Academy of Art, Tsereteli Art Gallery. Though it sounds like a glamorous trip, I arrived on Sunday and departed on Tuesday—courier trips are very quick and can be grueling.

It was an amazing experience, though, as I was able to visit the Basilica of St. Basil, the Kremlin, Red Square—places I never in my life thought I would see. The gallery was from the eighteenth or nineteenth century and had no freight elevator, so our large paintings had to be hand-carried down two flights of marble staircases that were lined on either side with marble sculptures on pedestals.

After the niceties of having tea with our Russian host, we packed in a huge atrium where, staring down as us from on high, were Communist-era statues reaching several stories high. Working with the Russian museum staff was especially challenging—out of the several people I worked with, only one spoke limited English, so we communicated mostly by sign language.

Luckily, another American colleague from Dubai was working on the exhibition, too, so between the two of us we were able to get the paintings packed safely and quickly. All in all, the Russian museum staff was a pleasure to work with, and it was an experience I would have never wanted to miss.

Packing paintings at the Russian Academy of Art, Tsereteli Art Gallery, in Moscow.

 

John Singleton Copley, Self-Portrait / Oil on canvas, 1780-1784 /   National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation with matching funds from the Smithsonian Institution; Frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee

Alice Waters: Turning the Tables

Food pioneer Alice Waters and top DC chefs all in one place -- Friday, January 20 at NPG.

The National Portrait Gallery will celebrate its newest acquisition with a reception featuring renowned chef Alice Waters and some of the Washington region’s most acclaimed masters of the kitchen. NPG will install the portrait of Alice Waters on Friday, January 20, and as a part of the evening, the gallery will host a conversation between Waters and José Andrés in the McEvoy Auditorium at 6:00 p.m.

Following the portrait presentation will be a chefs’ reception with light fare by Andrés, Cathal Armstrong, Adam Bernbach, Todd Gray, Haidar Karoum, Nora Pouillan, Adam Smith (representing Cowgirl Creamery) and Susan Gage. Information to purchase tickets for the event can be found here.

One remarkable component of Alice Waters’s culinary philosophy is that she teaches us what we already should instinctively know: the wisest meal begins close to home. Fresher ingredients, which do not require processing, naturally yield a higher-quality dining experience. Ironically, advancements in agriculture, the food industry, and technology have combined to remove us from the intimacy of meals featuring food we have seen cultivated and prepared. Alice Waters has been at the forefront of changing that concept.

“The Portrait Gallery recognizes Waters for changing the way the nation thinks about how people are connected to food and the environment,” notes Dr. Martin Sullivan, NPG director. Dave Woody, winner of the NPG's 2009 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition (OBPC), was the artist commissioned to create the Waters portrait.

The journey from blank canvas to portrait on the wall is a lengthy one, with both the sitter and the artist being taken into consideration. Brandon Fortune, NPG’s chief curator, said of the process, “The National Portrait Gallery Commission reviewed a number of worthy candidates and finally voted to ask Dave Woody to create a portrait of Alice Waters.”

Woody received his bachelor of fine arts in photography from Colorado State University and his master of fine arts in studio art from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. His photograph Laura (left) received the first prize in the 2009 OBPC, and he has also received multiple awards and honors while studying at the University of Texas. His work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and internationally.

Waters, chef, author, and founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, is a pioneer of a culinary philosophy based on using only the freshest organic products, served only in season. Over the course of forty years, Chez Panisse has developed a network of local suppliers whose dedication to sustainable agriculture assures the restaurant a steady supply of pure, fresh ingredients.

Waters’s commitment to education led to the creation of The Edible Schoolyard, a one-acre garden and an adjacent kitchen classroom at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. The project, started in 1996, gives nearly 1,000 students the knowledge and values they need to build a humane and sustainable future by actively involving them in all aspects of the food cycle.

The success of The Edible Schoolyard led to the School Lunch Initiative, which has as its national agenda the integration of a nutritious daily lunch and gardening experience into the academic curriculum of all the public schools in the United States.  

Meet Alice Waters, Dave Woody and top chefs from D.C.–area restaurants January 20 at this event.

 

Alice Waters / Dave Woody / Pigment print, 2010 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the Marc Pachter Commissioning Fund as part of the first prize, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009

Laura / Dave Woody / Digital print, 2007 / First prize winner, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009

 

1862: Bloody Momentum

What Abraham Lincoln could never know, as 1861 closed its curtains, was what the second act of the Civil War would bring. The characters and the scenery would change rapidly in the coming year. The two generals whose signatures would conclude the war at Appomattox—Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee—would each make substantial contributions to their respective causes in 1862.

In the first six weeks of the new year, Grant (above) would begin his ascent up the ladder of command by vanquishing the Confederate forces at Forts Henry and Donelson in west Tennessee. Lee would be made commander of the southern army on June 1, 1862, and he would conclude the year with an impressive victory at Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Grant and Lee added to the roster of talented West Point graduates embroiled in the fight. And while Grant had never achieved much of merit outside of the military, Lee (below) had a fortune and a family name. Lee was taller than Grant, but Grant, at five feet eight inches, was not a short man for his day. Lee is credited with being more elegant and handsome, though, as Harold Holzer notes, “Lee had by this time lost much hair, and what remained had turned grey.” And though both men have been immortalized in equestrian statuary, Grant’s horsemanship is thought to have been one of his strongest assets.

Of Robert E. Lee's military pedigree, his general and memoirist A. L. Long writes:

From the date of its origin members of the family have gained distinction as warriors, until, through Launcelot Lee, Lionel Lee, and "Light-horse Harry," the culminating point is reached in Robert E. Lee, the greatest commander of modern times, and a military genius who may fairly be placed in comparison with the noted captains of the world as in some respects the noblest and ablest of them all.

Adjectives like “noble” are usually not assigned to Ulysses Grant. Often comparisons are made between Lee and Grant as they appeared at Appomattox; Lee is usually described as resplendent while Grant is pictured as grizzled and war-torn. How Ulysses Grant is depicted by historians matters significantly less than the single word that describes him at the end of the war: victorious.  

The war picked up speed and intensity in 1862, and as it did, both generals' roles would be increased. After Forts Henry and Donelson, large and horrible battles would be fought at Shiloh, Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. The war, by the end of 1862, was fought from Maryland to Missouri and from the Gulf Coast to the Shenandoah Valley.

—Warren Perry, Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery

 

Ulysses S. Grant / Samuel Bell Waugh / Oil on canvas, 1869 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Robert E. Lee / Edward Caledon Bruce / Oil on canvas, 1864-1865 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

 

Cited:
Harold Holzer, "Virginians See Their War," in Virginia at War: 1862, ed. William C. Davis and James I. Robertson Jr. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007)

A. L. Long, Memoirs of Robert E. Lee: His Military and Personal History (reprint; Secaucus, N.J.: Blue and Grey Press, 1983).