Happy New Year! We are kicking off the year by hosting a fantastic talk by Mr. Bill Steiner about the life and artwork of John James Audubon, the namesake of the Audubon Society. The meeting will take place on Thursday, January 5th at 7pm at Sandy Creek Nature Center in Athens, GA. Please see below for a description of the talk.
Our Society is named for a man whose bird paintings showed Americans exactly what they had to lose. Join us for an evening with Bill Steiner, birdwatcher, print collector, author, and scientist. Mr. Steiner will describe Audubon's life, his accomplishments, and his legacy. Foremost will be The Birds of America - Audubon's four-volume, 435 print masterpiece. The prints are all black-ink, hand colored, and depict each bird is its full life size. Bill will also discuss Audubon's mammal prints and John James' other works. History, printing methods, famous customers, and the birds themselves. And money - today, a complete set of The Birds of America will sell for millions.
Bill will bring along some original Audubon bird and mammal prints and a dozen or so full-size facsimiles. He will begin with a brief narrative on Audubon's history as a slave owner and he will end with some comments on the recent shift in attitude about naming birds for people.
Photo by: Bill Steiner