#AudubonUndone

lauren applebaum, Jim and Betty Becher Curator of American Art

The NCMA has on display in the American galleries one of only 134 known complete doubleelephant folio sets of The Birds of America, the culmination of John James Audubon’s 18-year quest to depict with remarkable detail every existing bird species in North America. Beginning in 1820, the self-trained naturalist and painter traveled the continent collecting specimens. To attain the most lifelike ornithological illustrations yet produced, Audubon used a macabre technique that involved manipulating and posing the bodies of freshly killed birds that he hunted and shot—often to inhumane excess.

Despite Audubon’s artistic accomplishments, the scientific community in Philadelphia perceived him as a selfaggrandizing charlatan. With no support he traveled to Britain in 1826 seeking funding and an engraver for his ambitious project. An industrious self-promoter, he presented himself to European audiences as a long-haired, buckskin-clad American woodsman and quickly gained popularity. Since its creation The Birds of America has become the most famous, influential, and highly valued ornithological publication, and the name Audubon synonymous with birds and the conservation of their habitats. But a deeper look at Audubon reveals a more complicated legacy.

The NCMA’s reinterpreted gallery, entitled #AudubonUndone: Bird Tweets and Black Truths, is guest curated by the ornithologist, naturalist, and awardwinning writer J. Drew Lanham, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University and a 2022

I have placed the pensive oppressed Crow of our country on a beautiful branch of the black walnut tree, loaded with nuts, on the lower twig of which I have represented the delicate nest of our Common Humming-bird. (Ornithological Biography, vol. 2, p. 322)

Replying to @JohnJamesAudubon

So much reverence for a darker hued being. IF ONLY YOU’D CARED AS MUCH ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE AS A BLACK BIRD J.J. IF ONLY. #Blackpeopleslivesmattertoo recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant. Lanham’s work as a scholar, storyteller, and advocate for environmental conservation stewardship combines conservation science with personal, historical, and cultural narratives, addressing the confluence of race, place, and nature. In addition to his expertise in wildlife ecology and conservation outreach, Lanham reflects upon his own Black identity within the field of birding in his recent work. His interpretation at the Museum recontextualizes Audubon’s work, meaningfully and creatively engaging the complex and troubling truths of Audubon’s own racism as well as issues of race more broadly in the history and present-day practice of American birding and environmentalism.

In this installation Lanham reckons with the long-ignored history of John James Audubon that we ought to know. Audubon has been blindly revered for nearly 200 years as the “founding father of American birding,” but his enormous contributions to the field have long overshadowed a troubling character who held beliefs and committed actions that were reprehensible even by the standards of his own day. Much worse than his cruelty toward birds, Audubon actively enslaved and re-enslaved Black people, writing critically about emancipation during a time when many others fought for abolition. Lanham considers Audubon’s monumental project in the context of his lingering legacy of racism and white supremacy. In the process he asks some important questions: “Does an ability to identify birds excuse an abhorrent personality? Should talent and fame whitewash racism and hate? What do we owe the birds that bear hateful human names?”

A response to Audubon’s penchant for showmanship and self-promotion, each of Lanham’s labels accompanying the bird prints on display takes the form of a tweet. His tweets directly address quotations from Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, the literary companion to The Birds of America. As a Black birder, Lanham wryly rebukes Audubon’s written accounts of his inhumane actions and beliefs, using Audubon’s own words to hold him accountable.

As environmental organizations that bear Audubon’s name begin grappling with their figurehead, this gallery explores the notion that, in Lanham’s words, “Seeing beauty and advocating for justice are not mutually exclusive acts ... [O]ne can feed the other powerfully.” For Lanham recognizing and learning from the tarnished truths of heroes of the past moves us toward a more equitable, just, and inclusive conservation future.

#AudubonUndone tells a multifaceted story of Audubon and his work. It provides a more transparent perspective, offering audiences an opportunity to think more critically about Audubon’s still great contributions to art, ornithology, and conservation, as well as what it means to be a birder or naturalist today—especially one of color. Birds that can be seen in the Museum Park are featured in regular page rotations, augmenting the integration between our galleries and the land that we occupy and enjoy.