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John James Audubon


Blue Winged Warbler Spectacular Printing!

Price:  $250
Item#:  58097

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12 x 19 in.
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about this piece
In 1987, noted Canadian lithographer M. Bernard Loates undertook the monumental task of publishing an updated version of John James Audubon's famous 'Birds of America' series of paintings. Audubon originally set out to paint every bird in America in the early 1820s. He then went to great lengths to have his paintings published, ultimately resulting in his collaboration with a British printer which gave us the famous Havell engravings. Loates felt he could responsibly shepherd a fresh update of Audubon's prints into the modern era.

For the project, he personally designed a custom 100lb 100% cotton rag acid-free archival paper with the watermark 'Bernard Loates Stallion Vellum' which was produced at the Manadnock Paper Mill in New Hampshire. Loates' paper used the double elephant folio sizing (39.5' x 28.5'), true to the size of the original Havell engravings. In the first release of five prints, known as the 'Introductory Edition', the margins featured the print's number and a set of three raised chop marks representing the publisher Tryon Mint, the artist John James Audubon, and a stylized heart symbol in the lower left corner, the title in script in the bottom center, and Loates' signature with an accompanying raised chop mark of a bird or other creature in the lower right corner. In the center of each sheet is the best part- the actual image of the bird. Here is where the exceptional and unique quality of these prints can really be understood. Sharp details, continuous tone, and vivid color were achieved with an impressive 30-60 passes through the single color presses and the use of ultra fine screens. The dot matrix pattern characteristic of most offset lithography can only be seen at very high magnification.

Upon viewing this print, it is immediately evident that the actual publishing process itself was a work of art which beautifully compliments Audubon's art work. Blue Winged Warbler is one of five pieces in M. Bernard Loates' initial offering, also known as the 'Introductory Edition'.

From M. Bernard Loates:

The small but beautiful Blue-Winged Warbler seems to have been somewhat misunderstood, and even today a great deal more has yet to be learned about it. Given the specific name pinus (because the person who named it thought it was the same as a bird called a pine creeper: painted by an earlier author), this bird in fact is not a creeper, is not found in pine forests, and does not have very blue wings.

Originally, it had a relatively restricted range in the northeastern United States, but in recent years has been expanding its range. It is not a bird usually found in forests, and with the removal of much of the forest cover on this continent, the Blue-Winged Warbler has found more suitable habitat; particularly popular with this species are the brushy edges of woodlots, streams or swamps, and neglected pastures that have become overgrown with brush.

Its nest is not easy to find. While the quiet female alone builds the nest and incubates, the singing male is more likely to attract the attention of anything looking for the birds. The nest is well concealed among weeds, briars, or bushes and placed close to the ground. A pile of leaves and coarse grasses, looking like a natural accumulation of litter, forms the bulk of the nest. The female sits very low in the nest, thus making it difficult for one to see any of her bright colours; she will sit tight until one is very close, and then, when finally disturbed, slip away without a sound.

The best chance to find a nest is to watch the adult birds bringing food to the nestlings. But by then the male is rather silent and more difficult to find. Food for the youngsters is a variety of small insects and spiders, particularly small soft green worms they find munching leaves in the shrubbery.

The Blue-Winged Warbler looks quite different from another species, the Golden-Winged Warbler. But these two birds illustrate well how outward appearances can be deceiving, for they are closely related, and will frequently form mixed pairs in the breeding season. They both sing songs that are buzzy in quality, but the Blue-Winged usually only sings the first half of the same song used by the Golden-Winged Warbler. Both species occupy similar habitat and can be found together in many areas. However, the Blue-Winged Warbler seems to be the more aggressive and, in any area where is becomes common, soon replaces the Golden-Winged Warbler, even though the latter species has probably been in the area for many years. We do not yet understand the subtle differences between these two species that might account for such events.

The Hibiscus, one of those unusual flowers with blooms the size of a spread hand, appears to dwarf the Blue-Winged Warbler as it courts its mate. Audubon had an uncanny ability to compose his subjects with scale in mind. To complete this plate, I have added a sunny blue sky to give an illusion of airiness.

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