John James Audubon
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This is a print on paper, and a careless copy bleaches the sheet white or lets it go yellow. Our Audubon Great Blue Heron print keeps the whole sheet, with its plate number and printed captions, graded to a warm cream so the heron’s blue-grey feathers and rust-red thighs stand out the way the colourists intended.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
12x18 inch, 16x24 inch, 20x30 inch, 24x36 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its tall shape suits a narrow wall, a hallway, a study or a lake house. The cream sheet and soft greys sit well with natural wood, green and stone, and a natural wood or black frame finishes it like a print in a library.
About the painting
Great Blue Heron by John James Audubon
The Birds of America
John James Audubon set out to paint every bird in North America, life-size. His paintings were turned into prints for a giant book called The Birds of America. This Great Blue Heron is plate 211. The bird bends its long neck down to the water, among reeds and grasses on a muddy bank.
An engraving, coloured by hand
Each plate was engraved on copper, printed and then coloured by hand. The words at the bottom of this sheet say it was engraved, printed and coloured by R. Havell in 1834, in London. Look closely at the feathers and you can see the fine engraved lines and the soft grain of the aquatint.
Life-size
Audubon drew every bird at its real size, so a tall bird like the heron had to bend to fit the page. That is why it stoops so low here. The bent neck gives the picture its shape and its grace.
Read the story
John James Audubon wanted to show you every bird in America at its real size, and to teach you how to watch them.
It's 1821, in Louisiana.
Two years earlier Audubon lost everything: his business failed, and he was jailed for his debts.
Now he has one plan left.
He walks the rivers and the swamps with a gun, his paper and his paints.
And he finds the great blue heron, the bird people here call the blue crane.
Some of them, he writes, fly off when a man is still half a mile away.
He draws it life-size, measuring the bill, the legs and the feet with a compass.
No one in America will print his birds, so he carries them across the ocean to England.
Thirteen years later, in London, he paints new ground under its feet, and that year it's engraved and coloured by hand.
Then Audubon writes to you, his good reader: pause a while, and watch the heron.
It sets each foot down so softly that no one hears it.
Its golden eye looks all around; then it lays its head on its shoulders and waits.
It stands so still, he writes, that you might take it for the statue of a bird.
And then, a sudden strike, and a fish is caught on its bill.
Almost two hundred years later, it's still waiting at the water's edge.
Be still with it. Wait as long as it waits.
Great Blue Heron. John James Audubon, 1834.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
