National Sporting Library & Museum
DATE: 04/10/2025
Contact Julie Banner
Phone 540-687-6542 ext. 25
Email JBanner@NationalSporting.org
Web NationalSporting.org
Mail P.O. Box 1335 Middleburg, VA 20118
OAK SPRING GARDEN FOUNDATION AND
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY & MUSEUM PARTNER FOR IMPORTANT EXHIBITIONS
at the National Sporting Library & Museum
MIDDLEBURG, Virginia – April 10, 2025 – In an exciting partnership with Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF), in Upperville, VA, the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) is organizing two significant exhibitions. Intrepid Audubon: The Birds of America, on view in the NSLM’s Museum and the complementary exhibition, Drawn to Nature: 300 Years of Natural History Illustration, in the NSLM’s Library, contextualize John James Audubon’s work and are on view from April 12–September 13, 2025. Tony Willis and Carter Hulinsky of OSFG noted, “This new partnership celebrates our joint dedication to art, nature, and land conservation, as well as our shared commitment to our local community.”
The Museum exhibition explores the creation of the seminal publication, The Birds of America (1827–1838), by John James Audubon. The self-taught artist’s expeditions as a hunter-naturalist and artist to document 489 North American bird species, created a stunning avian catalogue. Although he is acknowledged today to have been a controversial figure and enslaver, Audubon’s work remains foundational to wildlife art and the bird conservation movement. NSLM’s President & CEO Elizabeth von Hassell noted, “Addressing these complexities is central to Intrepid Audubon, which seeks to present a comprehensive, and unvarnished portrait of the man and his important legacy.”
The centerpiece is a bound, first edition of Audubon’s groundbreaking series, The Birds of America, a fourvolume double-elephant folio of hand-colored engravings—generously on loan for the first time to another institution by the OSGF. These magnificent books, with 39” tall spines, are displayed opened to images that highlight: Audubon as a bold and polarizing figure; the endangerment and extinction of several bird species; the artistic significance of the engravings; and the quality of the printing process. Visitors have the opportunity to virtually explore all the images contained in the volumes through an interactive display. An original copper printing plate from the first edition is also on loan from OSGF, and a vibrant and dynamic selection of framed engravings from The Birds of America are on loan from the National Museum of Wildlife, Jackson, WY, and The Morgan D. Delaney and Osborne Phinizy Mackie Collection.
The Library exhibition delves into the branch of science known as Natural History (the study of nature) which flourished from the 16th through 19th centuries. This surge in popularity was, in large part, due to the Age of Exploration: expeditions included individuals fascinated by and tasked with discovering new species of plants and animals. The show features masterpieces by Mark Catesby (English, 1682–1749), Georg Dionysius Ehret (German, 1708–1770), Elizabeth Gould (English,1804–1841), and Audubon. The majority of the works are on loan from Oak Spring Garden Foundation and the Morgan D. Delaney and Osborne Phinizy Mackie Collection with addition to rare volumes from the NSLM.
An accompanying catalogue includes essays by the NSLM’s George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Deputy Director & Head Curator Claudia Pfeiffer and George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Library Collections Colleen Yarger, Ph.D.
These exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of Oak Spring Garden Foundation and Mary and Don Shockey.
National Sporting Library & Museum
The National Sporting Library & Museum is located in Middleburg, VA, the heart of beautiful horse country. Founded in 1954, the renowned research Library and fine art Museum highlight the rich heritage and tradition of country pursuits. Angling, horsemanship, shooting, steeplechasing, foxhunting, flat racing, polo, coaching, and wildlife are among the subjects one can explore in the organization’s general stacks, rare book holdings, archives, and art collection. The NSLM offers a wide variety of educational programs, exhibitions, and family activities throughout the year, and is open to researchers and the public. There is no admission fee to the Library. The Museum charges $10 for adults, $8 for youths (age 13–18), and $8 for seniors. NSLM members and children age 12 and under are admitted free of charge. Library & Museum hours are Thursday–Sunday 10 am to 5 pm.
John James Audubon (American, 1785–1851)
Julius Bien, lithographer (American, 1826–1909)
Reddish Egret, 1860 chromolithogtraph
sight size 22 1/2 x 34 3/4 inches
The Morgan D. Delaney and Osborne Phinizy Mackie Collection
John James Audubon (American, 1785–1851)
Robert Havell, Jr., engraver (English, 1793–1878)
Virginia Partridge, plate 76, 1830
hand-colored engraving, 24 3/8 x 36 inches
Gift of the 2014 Collectors Circle, National Museum of Wildlife Art
Alexander Wilson (Scottish, 1766–1813)
Hand colored engraving from American Ornithology, 1808–1814, The Morgan D. Delaney and Osbourne Phinizy Mackie Collection
Mark Catesby (English, 1683–1749) Picus Maximus rosto albo. The Largest White-bill Woodpecker, from The Natural History Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: Containing the Figures of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpants, Insects, and Plants, 1771 hand-colored etching London: Printed for Benjamin White, at Horaces’s Head, in Fleetstreet, Volume I, Third edition Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Upperville, VA