Swallow-tailed Hawk

Artist John James Audubon (American, 1785 - 1851)

Engraver Robert Havell, Jr. (American, 1793 - 1878)

Datec. 1829

Mediumengraved copper plate

Dimensions21 1/8 x 28 inches (53.7 x 71.1 cm)

Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1979

Object number51.23.1

ClassificationsPrinting T&E

DescriptionEngraved copper plate of John J. Audubon's Swallow-tailed Hawk.

Label TextAudubon’s printmakers used copper plates to make the prints for The Birds of America. Following Audubon’s watercolor drawing, the printmaker would etch the design into the copper surface. The surface of the plate would be inked and then wiped clean so that the ink stayed in the grooves. The plate and a sheet of paper would be put through a printing press so that the paper picked up ink from the grooves, resulting in a black print on white paper. Then colorists would add the colors by hand, following the colors in Audubon’s original drawing and approved pattern plates.

ProvenancePratt Memorial Library, Cohasset, Massachusetts; purchased November 30, 1979 through (W. Graham Arader III, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

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