Throughout his life John Woodhouse Audubon's career was closely allied with those of his father, John James, and his brother, Victor Gifford. His youth was spent on the western frontier; during this period he was trained to assist his father in preparing his ornithological watercolors for publication. Along with his brother he was frequently engaged in painting the foliage and backgrounds for the Birds of America.
In 1834 John accompanied his father to England. There he began copying works of the old masters and developed a facility as a portraitist. Upon returning to the United States John settled In New York, but continued to accompany his father on sketching trips to the West. In 1840 he began exhibiting his portraits at the National Academy of Design but, by 1847 he was represented solely by depictions of North American fauna. After their father's death in 1851, John and Victor were steadily occupied with preparing The Viviparous Quadrapeds of North America for publication. The last years of John Audubon's life were spent supervising the publication of the octavo editions of the Birds of America and the Quadrapeds.
JPH
References
Francis Hobart Herrick, Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time (New York and London: Appleton-Century Co., 1917). Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, New York University: Gary A. Reynolds, John James Audubon & His Sons, 1982.
