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Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)

c. 1827

John James Audubon

(American, 1785–1851)

America, 19th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 74.9 x 101 x 10.2 cm (29 1/2 x 39 3/4 x 4 in.); Unframed: 64.5 x 91.5 cm (25 3/8 x 36 in.)

Gift of the American Foundation for the Maud E. and Warren H. Corning Botanical Collection 1964.351

Location

205 Federal American

Did you know?

Clocked at speeds more than 240 mph, peregrine falcons are the world's fastest animals.

Description

Combining his interests in nature and art, Audubon sought to depict every species of native North American birds posed in action with elements of their habitats. His efforts resulted in the four-volume publication The Birds of America, which contains more than 435 hand-colored engravings after his watercolor renderings. Occasionally the artist, sometimes with the help of assistants, made oil versions of his watercolors, of which this image of two falcons feasting on fresh duck carcasses is an early and especially lively example.

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Provenance

c. 1827-

John James Audubon [1785-1851], New York, NY, by descent to his wife, Lucy Bakewell Audubon

Lucy Bakewell Audubon [1787-1874], New York, NY, by descent to her son, John Woodhouse Audubon

John Woodhouse Audubon [1812-1862], New York, NY, by descent to his daughter, Lucy A. Williams

Lucy Audubon Williams [1838-1909], Greenburgh, Westerchester, NY, probably by descent to her grandson, Charles F. Edwards

Charles F. Edwards [1878-1954], Chicago, IL and Alameda, CA, by descent to his sister, Margaret McCormick

Mrs. H.V. (Margaret) McCormick, Long Island, NY and Staten Island, NY, sold to Kennedy Galleries

by 1964

(Kennedy Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1964-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Citations

Invoice from Kennedy Galleries, Oct. 20, 1964, Director Files, Sherman Lee, Box 36, File 10: Kennedy Galleries, Ingalls Library, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Henry Sayles Francis, letter to Sherman Lee, Oct. 2, 1964, in CMA curatorial file.

Martha G. Thomas, letter to Charles E. Winters, Sept. 29, 1992, in CMA curatorial file.

William Talbot, letter to Richard J. Koke, Feb. 16, 1977, in CMA curatorial file.

Martha G. Thomas, letter to Charles E. Winters, Sept. 29, 1992, in CMA curatorial file.

William Talbot, letter to Richard J. Koke, Feb. 16, 1977, in CMA curatorial file.

Martha G. Thomas, letter to Charles E. Winters, Sept. 29, 1992, in CMA curatorial file.

Kathman, Barbara A. A Cleveland Bestiary. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Reproduced: p. 42; Mentioned: p. 41, p. 62

Adams, Henry. What's American about American art?: a gallery tour in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008. Reproduced: p. 56 - 57

Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 45

Exhibition history

Liverpool, England, Liverpool Royal Academy, Audubon Exhibition (1827), possibly no. 188 as Two Hawks Seizing on Ducks.

Cleveland, Natural Science Museum (1964); indefinite loan.

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, John James Audubon (30 April-31 June 1974); case D.

Buffalo, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Heritage and Horizon: American Paintings 1776-1976 (6 March-11 April 1976); traveled to Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts (5 May-13 June 1976); to Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art (4 July-15 August 1976); Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art (8 September-10 October 1976); illu. cat. no. 7 as Duck Hawks.

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Science Within Art (13 February-20 April 1980), illus. cat. no. 13, p. 28, pp. 28-29 as Duck Hawks.

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, A Cleveland Bestiary (14 October-15 December 1981) illus. cat. no. 36, p. 42; listed p. 62, no, 36 as Duck Hawks.

New York, Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, John James Audubon & His Sons (26 April - 5 June 1982) illus. cat. no. 31, p. 69 as Duck Hawks by John James Audubon (they attribute it to the artist himself, not his sons).

Cleveland Musuem of Natural History, Cleveland, OH (February 10, 2007 - April 29, 2007): "John James Audubon: American Artist and Naturalist"

Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 1-31, 1965).

Work of John James Audubon. Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 30-June 30, 1974).

Heritage and Horizon: American Painting 1776 - 1976. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (organizer) (March 7-April 11, 1976); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (May 2-June 13, 1976); The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (July 4-August 15, 1976); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 8-October 24, 1976).

Science within Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-April 20, 1980); Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood, OH (June 1-July 1, 1980).

A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14-December 16, 1981).

John James Audubon: American Artist and Naturalist. Cleveland Museum of Natural History (organizer) (February 10-April 29, 2007).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1964.351|author=John James Audubon|year=c. 1827|access-date=29 November 2022|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)

Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)

John James Audubon

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