John James Audubon

One of America’s first wildlife artists, John Audubon has a name synonymous with conservation, but his realization about protecting the environment came late in his lifetime. He was an avid hunter, who killed the specimens depicted in his publications, but his in-depth studies have left a strong awareness of the beauties and complexities of nature.

Audubon was born in Santa Domingo, now Haiti, of a French Chambermaid mother, Jeanne Rabin, and French father, Jean Audubon, who was a successful naval officer, merchant, planter, and slave dealer. They traveled on the same ship to Haiti in October, 1783.