AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Pileated Woodpecker, Plate 111.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
38 5/8 x 25 1/2 sheet.
Comparable: Arader Galleries, 2017 - $158,600; Arader Galleries, 2017 - $146,400.
The gradations of color on this example creates compelling dimensionality.
"It is at all times a shy bird, so that one can seldom approach it, unless under cover of a tree, or when he happens accidentally to surprise it while engaged in its daily avocations. When seen in a large field newly brought into tillage, and yet covered with girdled trees, it removes from one to another, cackling out its laughter-like notes, as if it found delight in leading you a wild-goose chase in pursuit of it. When followed it always alights on the tallest branches or trunks of trees, removes to the side farthest off, from which it every moment peeps, as it watches your progress in silence." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography.