John James Audubon's paintings of north American birds are justly famous.
But it isn't until you see the originals up close that the scale of the achievement sinks in. Audubon made it an article of faith to depict his birds lifesize. Publication reduces his subjects to the limits of the format. In reality, though, Audubon's original prints, which were produced in the 1830s varied in size. This spring the New-York Historical Society, owners of the greatest trove of Audubon's work anywhere in the world, is putting them all on show in three exhibitions. The first show, which runs until mid-May, is a thing of wonder, a chance to trace Audubon's development, his technique and, above all, his genius in depicting hundreds of species in bird paintings that have never been equalled in range or imaginative power. Since so much of Audubon's work was first printed and published in this country, can the shows find their way to Britain too?