Plate 282
Havell CCCXLV
American Widgeon
(Mareca americana)
Although this painting—done in pencil, water color, pastel, and oil—is inscribed “New Orleans 1820,” it was undoubtedly done in 1821. At the time Audubon made the drawing he inscribed it in pencil; he must have committed his error in dating some years later when he copied the inscription in ink. Audubon frequently returned to early drawings and added backgrounds; in this instance he added a number of reeds, using oil paints. Still later, the leaves were painted out and a landscape was provided (though the leaves continue to show through the sky). The landscape may have been the work of Audubon’s son Victor. The male of this pair of widgeons is at left in the original; in the engraving, Havell reverses the position of the two birds, setting the female slightly in front of the male.
Source: The Original Water-Color Paintings by John James Audubon. Copyright 1966 by American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc.
Learn more about this print on the National Audubon Society's website.