The illustrations of 19-century ornithologist John James Audubon are some of the most influential paintings of nature in both science and fine art. Now, all 435 of his “Birds of America” watercolors are available for free, hi-res downloading. From the American Avocet to the Zenaida Dove, each was produced from hand-engraved plates, works originally printed between 1827 and 1838.
Today, the National Audubon Society says the figure was “not the first person to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of America (Alexander Wilson has that distinction), but for half a century he was the young country’s dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints, quickly eclipsed Wilson’s work and is still a standard against which 20th and 21st century bird artists, such as Roger Tory Peterson and David Sibley, are measured.”
Find the downloadable works here.
Jon MacNair
All that should look solid melts right off in the compositions of 
Chinese artist 