Audubon

JOHN FITZPATRICK: THIS IS A MAN WHO GENUINELY CHANGED ART AND HE GENUINELY CHANGED SCIENCE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1800'S.

RICHARD RHODES: THERE WERE ONLY TWO AMERICANS WHO WERE INAUGURATED INTO THE GREATEST SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY OF EUROPE OF THE DAY.

ONE WAS BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, THE OTHER WAS JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.

JAMIE WYETH: THERE'S AN EXCITEMENT IN HIS WORK, IT'S JUST MORE THAN JUST PAINTING THE BIRD.

I MEAN, THEY ARE ACCURATE.

I GUESS THEY'RE BIOLOGICALLY, SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE BUT, BUT, IT GOES WAY BEYOND THAT AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK HE'S, YOU KNOW, HE'S A GIANT OF PAINTING.

DANNY HEITMAN: THE ORNITHOLOGIST ROGER TORY PETERSON SAID IT BEST, "AUDUBONS REAL GIFT TO US IS AWARENESS.

AND IN THAT AWARENESS IS THE BEGINNING OF ALL TRUE CONSERVATION."

RICHARD RHODES: AUDUBON LIVED ON THE CUSP OF THE CHANGE FROM WILDERNESS TO FARM AND INDUSTRIAL AMERICA.

SO HE SAW THE WILDERNESS IN IT'S LAST FLOURISHING AND HE SAW THE BIRDS IN THEIR LAST FLOURISHING.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: AUDUBON WAS BORN IN 1785 IN ST. DOMINGUE, THE FRENCH PART OF HAITI.

AUDUBON WAS ILLEGITIMATE, WHICH WAS A FACT THAT HAUNTED HIM HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

HE WAS THE SON OF A CHAMBERMAID THAT HIS FATHER HAD MET GOING OVER FROM NANTES, WHERE HE WAS FROM, TO ST. DOMINGUE.

HIS MOTHER DIED SHORTLY AFTER HIS BIRTH.

WHEN THE SLAVE REBELLION ON ST. DOMINGUE TOOK PLACE HIS FATHER TOOK HIM AND HIS SISTER OVER TO FRANCE, WHERE THEY GREW UP AND THEY WERE ADOPTED BY HIS FATHER'S WIFE.

AUDUBON: THE FIRST OF MY RECOLLECTIVE POWERS PLACE ME IN THE CENTRAL PORTION OF...

THE CITY OF NANTES, ON THE LOIRE RIVER, IN FRANCE...

THE THUNDERS OF THE REVOLUTION STILL ROARED OVER THE LAND.

THE REVOLUTIONISTS COVERED THE EARTH WITH THE BLOOD OF MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD.

RICHARD RHODES: IT WAS A TERRIBLE TIME, AND THIS LITTLE BOY SUFFERED THE TRAUMA OF SEEING PEOPLE SLAUGHTERED IN THE STREET, CHAINED TO BARGES THAT WERE SUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER, SO THAT FOR A YEAR THEY COULDN'T EAT THE FISH BECAUSE OF ALL THE CORPSES IN THE RIVER.

HIS FATHER WISELY MOVED THE FAMILY TO A VILLAGE SOUTH OF NANTES ON THE LOIRE RIVER, WHERE THEY LIVED FOR THE REST OF AUDUBON'S CHILDHOOD.

AUDUBON: A VIVID PLEASURE SHONE UPON THOSE DAYS OF MY EARLY YOUTH.

WHEN I HAD HARDLY YET LEARNED TO WALK THE PRODUCTIONS OF NATURE LAY SPREAD ALL AROUND ME.

THEY WERE MY FIRST PLAYMATES.

ALMOST EVERY DAY, INSTEAD OF GOING TO SCHOOL WHERE I OUGHT TO HAVE GONE, I USUALLY MADE FOR THE FIELDS WHERE I SPENT THE DAY.

I WAS FERVENTLY DESIROUS OF BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH NATURE.

NONE BUT AERIAL COMPANIONS SUITED MY FANCY.

I FELT THAT AN INTIMACY WITH THEM MUST ACCOMPANY MY STEPS THROUGH LIFE.

NO ROOF SEEMED SO SECURE TO ME AS THAT FORMED BY THE DENSE FOLIAGE UNDER WHICH THE FEATHERED TRIBES WERE SEEN TO RESORT.

RICHARD RHODES: ONE OF THE OUTCOMES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION WAS THAT NAPOLEON TOOK OVER FRANCE.

AUDUBON WAS HIS FATHER'S ONLY SON, AND HIS FATHER DIDN'T WANT HIM TURNED INTO CANNON FODDER TO SATISFY NAPOLEON'S AMBITIONS.

SO HE HAD THE RIGHT DOCUMENTS FORGED, AND PUT HIS NOW EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD SON IN 1803 ON A FAST SHIP FOR THE UNITED STATES.

AUDUBON: MY FATHER FOUND IT NECESSARY TO SEND ME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND I CAME WITH INTENSE AND INDESCRIBABLE PLEASURE.

RICHARD RHODES: THE UNITED STATES IN 1803 WAS STILL BASICALLY AN ATLANTIC COASTAL COUNTRY.

IN FACT THE FAMOUS EXPEDITION OF LEWIS AND CLARK THAT THOMAS JEFFERSON SENT OUT WAS JUST, WHEN AUDUBON ARRIVED IN THE FALL OF 1803, PREPARING TO LEAVE FOR THE WEST.

AUDUBON: MY FATHER GAVE ME WHAT AMERICANS CALL A BEAUTIFUL PLANTATION.

REFRESHED DURING THE SUMMER EVES BY THE WATERS OF THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER AND TRAVERSED BY THE CREEK CALLED PERKIOMEN.

IT WAS THERE, AT MILL GROVE, THAT I COMMENCED MY SIMPLE AND AGREEABLE STUDIES, WITH AS LITTLE CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE AS IF THE WORLD HAD BEEN MADE FOR ME.

CARES I KNEW NOT, AND CARED NOT ABOUT THEM.

I HAD NO VICES, NEITHER HAD I ANY HIGH AIMS.

RICHARD RHODES: THIS STORY WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT THE GIRL NEXT DOOR.

AND THERE WAS A GIRL NEXT DOOR, LUCY BAKEWELL.

THE BAKEWELLS HAD MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES AROUND THE SAME TIME AUDUBON DID.

AND THEY MOVED HERE TO A SUBSTANTIAL PROPERTY NEXT DOOR TO AUDUBON'S PLACE THAT WAS CALLED FATLAND FORD.

AND THERE LUCY WAS LIVING WHEN AUDUBON REALIZED HE NEEDED TO BUY A GOOD HORSE, AND THAT HIS NEIGHBOR MR. BAKEWELL MIGHT HAVE ONE FOR SALE.

AUDUBON: I WAS SHOWN INTO A PARLOR WHERE ONLY ONE YOUNG LADY WAS SEATED BY THE FIRE.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: LUCY WAS ABOUT TO TURN SEVENTEEN OR ALREADY WAS SEVENTEEN WHEN SHE MET JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, SO SHE WAS READY TO MEET ROMANCE AND HE GAVE IT TO HER.

AUDUBON: IT WAS SHE.

OH, MAY GOD BLESS HER, WHO AFTERWARDS WOULD BECOME MY BELOVED WIFE.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: SHE WAS A VERY PROPER WOMAN, AND THIS WAS A FLAMBOYANT MAN COMING INTO HER LIFE.

LUCY AUDUBON: MY DEAR COUSIN, MY MARRIAGE TOOK PLACE AT THE BEGINNING OF APRIL.

I WISH YOU WERE ACQUAINTED WITH THE PARTNER OF MY DESTINY.

IT IS USELESS TO SAY MORE OF HIM TO YOU AT SO GREAT A DISTANCE, THAN THAT HE HAS A MOST EXCELLENT DISPOSITION, WHICH ADDS VERY MUCH TO THE HAPPINESS OF MARRIED LIFE.

RICHARD RHODES: WHEN THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF AMERICA DECIDED TO BECOME AMERICANS, THEY WERE READY TO STRIKE OUT FROM THE ATLANTIC COAST, TO MOVE INTO THE INTERIOR, TO CROSS THE APPALACHIANS TO THE NEW TOWNS ON THE REAL FRONTIER, THE FAR WEST, WHICH WAS IN THOSE DAYS KENTUCKY.

LUCY AUDUBON: YOU WILL FORM SOME IDEA OF THE ROADS WHEN I TELL YOU THAT THE FIRST DAY WE TRAVELED 70 MILES, SET OUT AT FOUR IN THE MORNING AND ARRIVED AT THE INN ABOUT SEVEN IN THE EVENING, AND EVERY DAY AFTERWARDS, TRAVELING THE SAME AMOUNT OF HOURS, WE COULD ONLY GO BETWEEN THIRTY AND FORTY MILES.

WE TRAVELED SOMETHING MORE THAN 300 MILES BY LAND, AND 700 BY WATER.

THE 700 MILES BY WATER WAS PERFORMED WITHOUT MUCH FATIGUE, THOUGH NOT WITHOUT SOME DISAGREEABLES.

OUR CONVEYANCE WAS A LARGE, SQUARE, OR RATHER OBLONG BOAT, BUT PERFECTLY FLAT ON ALL SIDES, AND JUST HIGH ENOUGH TO ADMIT A PERSON WALKING UPRIGHT.

I WISH, MY DEAR COUSIN, YOU COULD HAVE ENJOYED THE VARIETY OF BEAUTIFUL PROSPECTS WE DID ON OUR JOURNEY, WITHOUT PARTAKING OF THE FATIGUES.

HOWEVER, CONSIDERING THE LENGTH OF IT, I MUST NOT COMPLAIN.

WE TRAVELED GENERALLY ALL RIGHT AND REACHED THE PLACE OF OUR FUTURE RESIDENCE, WHICH IS A VERY PLEASANTLY SITUATED PLACE.

THE COUNTRY ROUND IS RATHER FLAT, BUT THE LAND IS VERY FERTILE.

AUDUBON: THE COUNTRY WAS SETTLED BY PLANTERS AND FARMERS OF THE MOST BENEVOLENT AND HOSPITABLE NATURE.

AND MY YOUNG WIFE, WHO POSSESSED TALENTS FAR ABOVE PAR, WAS REGARDED AS A GEM, AND RECEIVED BY THEM ALL WITH THE GREATEST PLEASURE.

THIS PLACE SAW MY BEST DAYS, MY HAPPINESS, MY WIFE HAVING BLESSED ME WITH OUR SON, GIFFORD.

THE PLEASURE WHICH I FELT IN HENDERSON AND UNDER THE ROOF OF THAT LOG CABIN CAN NEVER BE ERASED FROM MY HEART.

LUCY AUDUBON: I AM VERY SORRY THERE IS NO LIBRARY HERE, OR BOOKSTORE OF ANY KIND, FOR I HAVE VERY FEW OF MY OWN AND AS MR. AUDUBON IS CONSTANTLY AT THE STORE I SHOULD ENJOY A BOOK VERY MUCH WHILST I AM ALONE.

AUDUBON: WE HAD MANY GOODS AND OPENED A LARGE STORE, WHICH WENT ON PROSPEROUSLY WHEN I ATTENDED TO IT.

BUT BIRDS WERE BIRDS, AND MY THOUGHT WE EVER AND ANON TURNING TOWARDS THEM, AS NATURE ONLY.

I SELDOM PASSED A DAY WITHOUT DRAWING A BIRD OR NOTING SOMETHING RESPECTING ITS HABITS.

I FELT A GREAT DESIRE TO MAKE CHOICE OF A STYLE MORE PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO THE IMITATION OF FEATHERS THAN THE DRAWINGS AND WATERCOLORS THAT I HAD BEEN IN THE HABIT OF SEEING.

TO COMPLETE A COLLECTION NOT ONLY VALUABLE TO THE SCIENTIFIC CLASS, BUT PLEASING TO EVERY PERSON.

MY DRAWINGS HAVE ALL BEEN MADE AFTER INDIVIDUALS FRESH KILLED, MOSTLY BY MYSELF, AND PUT UP BEFORE ME BY MEANS OF WIRE IN THE PRECISE ATTITUDE PRESENTED.

BUT IN FORMING WORKS ENTIRELY WITH THE VIEW TO DISTINGUISH THE TRUE FROM THE FALSE, NATURE MUST BE SEEN FIRST ALIVE.

THE GREAT HORNED OWL IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON SPECIES ALONG THE SHORES OF THE OHIO.

ROBERTA OLSON: THE GREAT HORNED OWL IS ONE OF AUDUBON'S EARLY MASTERPIECES.

AND IT SHOWS HIS MODERN QUALITIES.

HE DID THE BIRD ON THE RIGHT IN 1814 AS THE INSCRIPTION SAYS, IN HENDERSON.

AND HE DID IT IN HIS EARLY TECHNIQUE OF PASTEL, EVEN THOUGH HE BEGAN TO USE INK AND OTHER THINGS IN IT, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT YOU CAN ALMOST TOUCH THE FEATHERS, THEY WOULD BE SOFT.

THAT IS THE MALE, WHICH IS SMALLER THAN THE FEMALE.

THE FEMALE IS ON THE LEFT AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SHE IS DIFFERENT NOT ONLY IN HER PLUMAGE BUT ALSO BY THE MEDIA, BECAUSE SHE IS DONE IN WATERCOLOR.

HE HAS OVERLAPPED THE TWO AND COLLAGED THEM, OR GLUED THEM DOWN ON A THIRD SHEET OF PAPER.

DON BOARMAN: BY THE TIME HE'D BEEN HERE ONLY THREE YEARS...

HE WAS THE THIRD WEALTHIEST MAN IN HENDERSON.

HE BEGAN TO SPECULATE IN REAL ESTATE.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: THEY LIVED QUITE COMFORTABLY, GIVEN THE FRONTIER CONDITIONS.

THEY HAVE SLAVES, SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ALWAYS MENTIONED.

DON BOARMAN: IN 1812 THEY'D HAD ANOTHER SON, JOHN WOODHOUSE AUDUBON.

THE MIDDLE NAMES, GIFFORD AND WOODHOUSE, CAME FROM LUCY'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: HE BECOMES AN AMERICAN CITIZEN IN 1812, A NATURALIZED AMERICAN CITIZEN, ON A TRIP BACK TO PHILADELPHIA.

UNFORTUNATELY HE ALSO INVESTS IN A STEAM MILL THAT BECOMES A GIGANTIC BUSINESS FAILURE.

AUDUBON: THE BUILDING OF THAT ACCURSED STEAM MILL WAS, OF ALL THE FOLLIES OF MAN, ONE OF THE GREATEST.

I HAD HEAVY BILLS TO PAY, WHICH I COULD NOT MEET.

I PAID ALL I COULD, AND LEFT HENDERSON POOR AND MISERABLE OF THOUGHT.

NOTHING WAS LEFT TO ME BUT MY HUMBLE TALENTS.

JOHN FITZPATRICK: THERE IS A TRANSFORMATIONAL MOMENT IN HIS LIFE, RIGHT AROUND 1820 I THINK, WHERE HE JUST SAYS, "I'M COMMITTED TO THIS TOTALLY CRAZY IDEA, OF PAINTING ALL THE BIRDS IN NORTH AMERICA, IN LIFE SIZE."

I DON'T THINK EVEN AUDUBON KNEW HOW BIG A JOB THAT WOULD END UP HAVING TO BE.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: WHEN THEY WERE DESTITUTE, AFTER THEY HAD LOST EVERYTHING IN HENDERSON, JOHN JAMES KIND OF BECAME OBSESSED WITH FINDING MORE BIRDS, AT A TIME WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN OBSESSED WITH FINDING A REAL JOB.

RICHARD RHODES: SO HOW IS HE GOING TO DO THIS?

HOW IS HE GOING TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY?

WELL HE'S NOT, LUCY'S GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THAT PART.

LUCY IS A TEACHER.

AND HE WILL SIGN ON TO A FLATBOAT, DOWN ONE OF THE GREAT BIRD FLYWAYS OF NORTH AMERICA, THE CENTRAL FLYWAY DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI.

AUDUBON: I LEFT CINCINNATI THIS AFTERNOON AT HALF PAST FOUR O'CLOCK.

THE FEELINGS OF A HUSBAND AND FATHER WERE MY LOT, WHEN I KISSED MY BELOVED WIFE AND CHILDREN WITH AN EXPECTATION OF BEING ABSENT FOR SEVEN MONTHS.

I AM ONBOARD A KEELBOAT GOING DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS, THE POOREST MAN ON IT.

RICHARD RHODES: THE BOATS NEEDED SOMEONE ABOARD WHO WOULD BE A POT HUNTER, WHO WOULD GET OFF WHEN THEY PULLED OVER TO THE BANK AND GO FIND SOME ANIMALS IN THE FOREST TO SHOOT THAT THEY COULD COOK UP FOR FOOD.

THAT WOULD BE HOW HE WOULD PAY HIS WAY DOWN THE RIVER.

AUDUBON: THIS AFTERNOON BEING CALM, WITH ONE OF THOSE WHIMSICAL SUNSETS THAT ONLY BELONG TO AMERICA.

AS NIGHT CAME, OUR MINDS BECAME AFFECTED BY STRONG EMOTIONS.

I LOOKED AT MY DRAWINGS, AND PARTICULARLY AT THAT OF MY BELOVED WIFE.

I LIKE TO SPEND ABOUT ONE HOUR IN THOUGHTS DEVOTED TO MY FAMILY.

THE MORNING BROKE, AND WITH IT MIRTH, ALL ABOUT US.

THEY ARE NOT THE SOFT SOUND OF THE FLUTE THAT I HEAR, BUT THE SWEETER NOTES OF NATURE'S OWN MUSIC, CHEERING THE APPROACH OF A BENEVOLENT, SHINING DAY.

I NEVER FOR A DAY GAVE UP LISTENING TO THE SONGS OF OUR BIRDS... OR WATCHING THEIR PECULIAR HABITS, AND DELINEATING THEM IN THE BEST WAY THAT I COULD.

I THOUGHT THAT I NOW DREW BIRDS FAR BETTER THAN I HAD EVER DONE BEFORE MISFORTUNE INTENSIFIED OR AT LEAST DEVELOPED MY ABILITIES.

RICHARD RHODES: AUDUBON REALLY HAD REACHED THE POINT WHERE HE COULD BEAUTIFULLY DRAW A BIRD, IN THREE DIMENSIONS, AND AS HE SAID THE ATTITUDE OF LIFE.

HE OBSERVED THE BIRDS IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FOR HOURS AND HOURS AND DAYS AND DAYS.

AUDUBON: I RECEIVED TWO LETTERS FROM MY BELOVED WIFE TODAY.

I HOPE THAT MY FAMILY WISHES ME AS GOOD A CHRISTMAS AS I DO THEM.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 1821.

AT NEW ORLEANS AT LAST.

WE ARRIVED HERE ABOUT EIGHT O'CLOCK THIS MORNING.

DANNY HEITMAN: AUDUBON ARRIVED EARLY IN 1821.

IN SHORT ORDER HE HAD HIS POCKET PICKED, HE SUFFERED A HANGOVER.

AUDUBON: I AROSE EARLY, TORMENTED BY MANY DISAGREEABLE THOUGHTS, WITHOUT A CENT IN A BUSTLING CITY WHERE NO-ONE CARES A FIG FOR A MAN IN MY SITUATION.

DANNY HEITMAN: IN THE SPRING OF 1821 HE'S DESTITUTE, HE'S DOWN ON HIS LUCK, HE'S DEPRESSED, AND HE'S QUITE POSSIBLY ABOUT TO GIVE UP ON THIS AMBITION HE HAS TO BE A FULL-TIME BIRD ARTIST AND TO CONTINUE HIS WORK ON THE BIRDS OF AMERICA.

IT'S AT THAT POINT... THAT HE MEETS LUCRETIA PERRY, WHO IS THE WEALTHY MISTRESS OF OAKLEY PLANTATION...

IN ST. FRANCISVILLE, NEAR NEW ORLEANS.

LUCRETIA WANTS AUDUBON TO TUTOR HER DAUGHTER ELIZA, WHO'S FIFTEEN YEARS OLD.

HE'S TO SPEND HALF OF HIS TIME TUTORING ELIZA AND THE OTHER HALF OF HIS TIME HE CAN COMB THESE WONDERFUL WOODS HERE FOR HIS BIRD SPECIMENS.

AUDUBON: THE WOODS HERE HAVE A NEW AND VERY ROMANTIC APPEARANCE.

THE MOSS ON EVERY TREE DARKENS THE UNDERGROWTH AND AFFORDS TO THE MELANCHOLY MIND A RETREAT.

MY BELOVED BIRDS OF AMERICA FILL ALL MY TIME, AND NEARLY ALL MY THOUGHTS.

I KNOW OF NO SPECIES SO GAY OR FROLICSOME AS THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

THEY FIND A SUPERABUNDANCE OF FOOD EVERYWHERE, AS WELL AS THE BEST FACILITIES FOR RAISING THEIR BROODS.

THE LITTLE LABOR THAT THEY PERFORM IS ITSELF A SOURCE OF ENJOYMENT.

JOHN FITZPATRICK: I MEAN THIS IS NOT JUST AN ARTIST.

THIS IS A GUY WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT THESE THINGS, HE'S CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING, AND HE WANTS TO PUT ALL THAT ONTO PAPER AND LET OTHER PEOPLE ENJOY THAT.

THAT WAS REVOLUTIONARY, COMPLETELY NEW.

SO HE'S DEPICTING PLUMAGE MUCH MORE ACCURATELY THAN ANYBODY EVER HAD.

HE'S DEPICTING POSTURES FAR MORE ACCURATELY AND WITH FAR MORE, WELL, PASSION THAN ANYBODY EVER HAD.

AND HE'S DEPICTING BEHAVIORS, ACTUAL GENUINE BEHAVIORS THAT THE BIRDS DO IN REAL LIFE, MUCH MORE ACCURATELY THAN ANYBODY EVER HAD.

RICHARD RHODES: BIRD ILLUSTRATIONS HAD BEEN BASICALLY, BEFORE AUDUBON, FOR PURPOSES OF BIRD IDENTIFICATION.

REMEMBER THIS WAS BEFORE PHOTOGRAPHY, HE HAD TO ENVISION THIS SOMEHOW IN HIS MIND FROM DEAD SPECIMENS.

ROBERTA OLSON: AND HE SAW THEM MOVING.

THEREFORE IN HIS WATERCOLORS YOU WOULD HAVE THE BIRDS MOVING BEYOND THE FRAME, THEY WOULD BE COMING IN FROM THE LEFT, MOVING OFF TO THE RIGHT, THEY'D BE FLYING OFF OF THE TOP.

AND MANY OF THE BIRDS YOU WILL SEE LIFTING THEIR FEET AND YOU SWEAR THAT IF YOU BLINK THEY WILL EITHER FLY AWAY OR STEP OFF THAT PIECE OF PAPER.

AND HE RECOUNTS HOW THIS VERY EPISODE OF THE RED-TAILED HAWKS HE VIEWED WITH HIS OWN EYES.

A FEMALE HAD GRABBED A RABBIT IN HER TALONS AND WAS GOING OFF WITH IT WHEN HER MATE ATTACKED HER.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: THERE IS NEVER A SIMPLE NARRATIVE THAT AUDUBON GIVES YOU IN HIS BEST COMPOSITIONS.

YOUR EYE IS DIRECTED INTO MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, WHICH IS WHY THESE IMAGES ARE NEVER DULL, THEY'RE NEVER BORING.

YOU SEE THE EYE OF THE MALE, YOU SEE THE EYE OF THE FEMALE, YOU SEE THEIR BEAKS, YOU SEE THE OPEN BEAK OF THE MALE.

AND AUDUBON DOES ENCOURAGE THAT KIND OF FEELING, THAT WE ARE PART OF THE IMAGE THAT HE PRESENTS TO US.

DANNY HEITMAN: I THINK WHAT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE ABOUT AUDUBON IS HIS PHENOMENAL ENERGY.

WHILE HE WAS HERE AT OAKLEY HE WOULD RISE BEFORE DAWN, HE WOULD GO OFF INTO THE WOODS TO LOOK FOR BIRD SPECIMENS, COME BACK, DO HIS TUTORING.

HE'D BE OUT IN THE AFTERNOON, AFTER HIS TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES, AND HE WOULD OFTEN BE WRITING LATE INTO THE NIGHT, RECORDING HIS EXPERIENCES HERE, AND OF COURSE KEEPING UP WITH HIS CORRESPONDENCE.

HE HAD A TIRELESS ENERGY.

OF COURSE HE BROUGHT BACK SPECIMENS HERE.

IT'S VERY HOT, IT'S AT THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER.

AND THERE ARE NOTES IN HIS JOURNAL ABOUT WORKING VERY HARD TO DRAW A PICTURE OF A RATTLESNAKE BEFORE IT DECOMPOSES.

THIS IS NOT THE SORT OF PERSON THAT ONE WOULD IDEALLY WANT TO HAVE AROUND YOUR HOUSE.

RICHARD RHODES: THERE'S A GOOD DEAL OF CORRESPONDENCE THAT SURVIVES BETWEEN LUCY AND JOHN JAMES DURING THIS PERIOD THAT HE'S IN NEW ORLEANS AND UP RIVER ON THE PLANTATION.

SHE'S NOT VERY HAPPY AT THIS POINT.

SHE'S LIVING WITH RELATIVES, WHICH IS ALWAYS PAINFUL, PARTICULARLY IF YOU'VE HAD YOUR OWN ESTABLISHMENT AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS BEFORE.

SHE HAS HER TWO YOUNG SONS SHE TAKING CARE OF AND TRYING TO SCHOOL.

THERE'S A GOOD DEAL OF HER BEING CONCERNED THAT HE'S FORGOTTEN HER.

THAT HE PERHAPS DOESN'T LOVE HER ANYMORE.

THE SOLUTION WAS TO BRING LUCY DOWN TO LOUISIANA.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: THIS IS AT THE POINT WHERE SHE FINALLY SAW THE BIRDS THAT HE HAD DRAWN THERE.

AND EVERYTHING MELTED AWAY.

HER ANGER JUST WENT AWAY.

SHE SAW THE WORK THAT HE WAS CREATING AND SHE KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY POPULAR.

SO ALL WAS FORGIVEN AT THIS POINT.

ALL WAS FORGIVEN.

RICHARD RHODES: AND WITH HER SET OF SKILLS SHE FIT IN PERFECTLY TO SERVE AS THE COMPLETE TEACHER ON THE PLANTATIONS OF THESE WEALTHY SOUTHERNERS WHO WANTED THEIR CHILDREN TO HAVE THE FINER TOUCHES OF A EUROPEAN EDUCATION.

AND THEY MADE AN ADEQUATE LIVING THAT WAY WHILE HE COLLECTED IN THIS PARADISE IN LOUISIANA.

WHEN AUDUBON STUDIED BIRDS HE WASN'T ABLE TO GO TO A PARK SOMEWHERE AND SIT ON A BENCH AND WATCH THE BIRDS FLY AND SO ON.

HE HAD TO GO INTO THE WILDERNESS.

HE DID IT MOSTLY ON FOOT.

HE WAS A FAMOUS WALKER, HE COULD WALK FORTY MILES IN A DAY.

AND HE WASN'T WALKING ON A NICE SMOOTH SURFACE, HE WAS WALKING THROUGH OPEN FOREST OR PRAIRIE.

ALL OF THIS IN THE SERVICE OF UNDERSTANDING THE BIRDS NOT SIMPLY AS DEAD SPECIMENS BUT AS LIVING CREATURES WHO HAD LIFE CYCLES OF THEIR OWN.

AUDUBON: THE FAMILIARITY OF THE HOUSE WREN IS EXTREMELY PLEASING.

THIS SWEET LITTLE BIRD DELIGHTS IN BEING ABOUT THE HABITATIONS OF MAN.

I KNEW OF ONE NEST IN SUCH AN OLD HAT AS YOU SEE REPRESENTED BEFORE YOU.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: THE HOUSE WREN IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE IMAGES BECAUSE IT SHOWS THAT AUDUBON HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR.

IT'S ONE OF THE FEW PAINTINGS WHERE AUDUBON GETS EVIDENCE OF HUMAN LIFE RIGHT INTO THE PAINTING, AND BIRDS HAVE REPURPOSED IT FOR THEIR OWN LIVES, USING IT AS A HABITATION.

YOU SEE EXCREMENT DRIFTING DOWN THE HAT... AS IF THE BIRDS WERE EXPRESSING THEMSELVES.

YOU KNOW, EXPRESSING THEIR OWN OPINION OF WHAT HUMANKIND MEANS TO THEM.

JOHN FITZPATRICK: THERE'S ONE OF AUDUBON'S PAINTINGS THAT I PARTICULARLY LIKE AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE THOUGHT THAT HE PUT INTO THESE COMPOSITIONS.

THE CAROLINA PARAKEET IS A SPECTACULAR ONE WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF PARAKEETS, KIND OF ARRANGED IN A BIG S CURVE DOWN THE PAGE, AND EVERY SINGLE PARAKEET'S IN A DIFFERENT POSTURE.

ONE OF THEM NEAR THE BOTTOM AND HE'S LOOKING STRAIGHT AT YOU.

AND HE'S DISPLAYING ALL THEIR FEATHERS AND THEIR DIFFERENT POSTURES IN THAT ONE PAINTING, AND IT'S ALL BROUGHT TOGETHER IN A BEAUTIFUL MOSAIC OF PATTERN THAT IS BRILLIANT.

ROBERTA OLSON: THIS IS THE ONLY PARROT NATIVE TO AMERICA, AND AUDUBON FIRST SAW IT IN 1808.

THIS WATERCOLOR HOWEVER DATES FROM AROUND 1825.

JAMIE WYETH: IF YOU LOOK AT WATERCOLOR BEFORE AUDUBON CAME ALONG IT WAS RATHER, YOU KNOW, WASHES AND RATHER PROSAIC AND WHATNOT.

HE JUST ZEROED RIGHT IN.

I MEAN THE EYEBALL OF A BIRD AND THE GLEAM OF IT.

AND THIS IS WATERCOLOR!

TECHNICALLY, AS A WATERCOLORIST HE WAS ONE OF THE GIANTS OF THE MEDIUM AND HE TOOK WATERCOLOR TO ANOTHER LEVEL.

SO MY FATHER WAS JUST INTRIGUED WITH THAT.

I THINK JOHN JAMES AUDUBON AND ALBRECHT DURER ARE THE TWO PEOPLE IN WATERCOLOR THAT MY FATHER ABSOLUTELY ADORED.

HE'S A REMARKABLE TECHNICIAN AND NOT RESTRICTED BY HIS MEDIUM.

JOHN FITZPATRICK: HE STARTED TO ACTUALLY REALLY FLOURISH WITH THE STYLE THAT BECAME SIGNATURE AUDUBON, WITH LOTS OF BEHAVIOR.

HE WAS SHOWING OFF.

AND HE'S DOING THAT WITH HIS PAINTINGS.

AUDUBON: I HAVE REPRESENTED TEN OF THESE PRETTY AND MOST INTERESTING BIRDS IN VARIOUS POSITIONS.

FLITTING, FEEDING OR SITTING ON THE SLENDER STALK OF THE TRUMPET FLOWER AND PRUNING THEMSELVES.

ROBERTA OLSON: MOST CERTAINLY AUDUBON SAW RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS IN LOUISIANA.

AMONG THE MANY KINDS OF MEDIA AUDUBON EMPLOYED HERE WAS ONE THAT REALLY SORT OF KNOCKS YOUR SOCKS OFF.

THAT IS THE APPLICATION OF GOLD AND COPPER COLORED METALLIC PIGMENTS.

YOU CAN ONLY SEE THEM WHEN YOU TIP THE PAPER SO THAT THEY CATCH THE LIGHT.

AND AS EVERYONE KNOWS WHO HAS WATCHED RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, THAT IS EXACTLY THE WAY THEY LOOK WHEN THE LIGHT CATCHES THEIR FEATHERS.

AUDUBON: THIS GLITTERING FRAGMENT OF THE RAINBOW IS SEEN ADVANCING ON FAIRY WINGS, CAREFULLY VISITING EVERY OPEN FLOWER CUP.

IT MOVES FROM ONE FLOWER TO ANOTHER LIKE A GLEAM OF LIGHT.

UPWARDS, DOWNWARDS, TO THE RIGHT, TO THE LEFT.

JOHN FITZPATRICK: BY THE MID-TWENTIES AUDUBON HAS ACCUMULATED A PRETTY AMAZING COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS, AND HE'S GOTTEN VERY, VERY GOOD AT THESE THINGS.

HE'S NOW READY TO SAY, WELL, I'VE GOT TO MAKE SOME MONEY OFF THIS FINALLY.

SO HIS FIRST EFFORT OF COURSE IS GO TO THE EAST COAST OF THE U.S. AND TRY TO GET SOME TRACTION THERE.

AND BASICALLY HE FALLS FLAT.

AUDUBON WAS NOT VIEWED BY THE SCIENCE COGNOSCENTI IN PHILADELPHIA AS ANYTHING EXCEPT A PIONEER GUY, A WOODSMAN OUT IN THE WEST.

DON BOARMAN: HE GIVES THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWS TO LUCY.

THE BAD NEWS IS I DID NOT FIND AN ENGRAVER OR A PUBLISHER OR ANYBODY INTERESTED IN HELPING ME PROMOTE THIS IDEA.

THE GOOD NEWS IS EVERYBODY LOVES MY PAINTINGS.

AND THEY TELL ME THAT I REALLY NEED TO GO TO ENGLAND OR FRANCE TO GET THIS DONE.

SO THEY BOTH AGREE THIS IS WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO.

SHE BEGINS WORKING, TEACHING, HE AGAIN FARMS HIMSELF OUT TEACHING EVERYTHING HE COULD THINK OF.

AND THEY MANAGE TO SAVE A GOOD BIT OF MONEY.

BY 1826 HE TAKES HIS DRAWINGS AND GETS ON A BOAT HEADED TO LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

AUDUBON: I LEAVE MY BELOVED AMERICA, MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, AND ACQUAINTANCES.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS VOYAGE IS TO VISIT ENGLAND WITH THE INTENTION OF PUBLISHING MY WORK OF THE BIRDS OF AMERICA.

MY SITUATION APPEARS PRECARIOUS IN THE EXTREME.

I IMAGINE THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL WHOM I AM ABOUT TO MEET POSSESSES TALENTS SUPERIOR TO THOSE OF ANY ON OUR SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC.

THE BIRD SEIZED WHEN SITTING ON HER NEST... COULD NOT BE MORE TERRIFIED.

DON BOARMAN: AUDUBON NOW IS LONELY, HE'S IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY...

HE'S SCARED OUT OF HIS MIND.

BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT THIS IS HIS LAST SHOT.

HE'S MEETING PEOPLE HE DOES NOT KNOW, HE'S DEPENDING ON THE BENEVOLENCE OF PEOPLE HE DOES NOT KNOW AND IF HE FAILS HERE...

IT'S DONE.

ALL THESE LAST FEW YEARS OF WORK WERE FOR NOTHING.

ALL THOSE PEOPLE, INCLUDING HIS IN-LAWS, WHO HAD RIDICULED HIM, THIS IS ALL WEARING ON HIM NOW.

BECAUSE IF HE CAN'T MAKE THIS WORK THEN MAYBE THEY WERE RIGHT AND I AM A WORTHLESS NO-GOOD JERK, AND POOR LUCY HAS REALLY MADE A BAD CHOICE.

RICHARD RHODES: HE HAD AN INTRODUCTION TO SOMEONE WHO BRUSHED HIM OFF WHEN HE SHOWED UP IN HIS ROUGH COUNTRY BUCKSKINS WITH HIS HAIR DOWN TO HIS SHOULDERS.

AND HE REALLY WAS LOST IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS TOTALLY NEW WORLD.

BUT HE MADE A CONNECTION AND WITHIN A FEW WEEKS WAS TAKEN UP BY ONE OF THE FIRST FAMILIES OF LIVERPOOL.

THEY THOUGHT MR. AUDUBON WAS A TRUE AND AUTHENTIC AMERICAN ORIGINAL.

AND HE SLIPPED INTO THIS ROLE OF THE "AMERICAN WOODSMAN", AS HE CALLED HIMSELF.

AND HE PERFORMED, HE WOULD BE INVITED TO DINNER...

HE'D WEAR HIS COUNTRY CLOTHES, HE'D WOULD DO, "WOO-WOO-WOO" INDIAN DANCES AROUND THE TABLE.

AUDUBON: I WAS ASKED TO IMITATE THE WILD TURKEY CALL AND I DID, TO THE SURPRISE OF THE WHOLE CIRCLE.

I HOOTED LIKE A BARRED OWL AND COOED LIKE A DOVE.

I'M GLAD REALLY THAT I WAS NOT DESIRED TO BRAY LIKE AN ASS, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN RUDE, EVEN FROM AN ASS, TO BRAY IN SUCH COMPANY.

ROBERTA OLSON: AUDUBON WAS A GENIUS AT MARKETING, FIRST OF ALL AS THE AMERICAN WOODSMAN HE CAME OVER TO EUROPE WITH HIS BUCKSKIN CLOTHES ON THE MODEL OF NATTY BUMPO AND DANIEL BOONE, AND HE PUT BEAR GREASE IN HIS HAIR SO HE COULD REALLY SMELL AUTHENTIC, AND OF COURSE HE DID ROAD SHOWS.

HE BROUGHT ALL OF HIS WATERCOLORS AND HE WOULD TACK THEM UP, FIRST IN LIVERPOOL AND THEN IN EDINBURGH AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION.

AUDUBON: THIS DAY, LUCY, WAS ONE OF TRIAL TO ME.

AT NINE THIS MORNING I WAS QUITE BUSY ARRANGING AND DISPOSING IN SETS MY DRAWINGS, TO BE FAIRLY INSPECTED BY THE PUBLIC, THE CONNOISSEURS, THE CRITICS.

THERE I WAS, ALL IN VIEW OF THE WORLD.

MAN: PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLORS COVERED THE WALLS OF THE INSTITUTION HALL AND THE EFFECT WAS LIKE MAGIC.

THE SPECTATOR IMAGINED HIMSELF IN THE FOREST.

ALL WERE OF THE SIZE OF LIFE, FROM THE WREN AND THE HUMMINGBIRD TO THE WILD TURKEY AND THE BIRD OF WASHINGTON.

'TWAS A WILD AND POETICAL VISION OF THE HEART OF THE NEW WORLD.

RICHARD RHODES: TO WALK INTO A ROOM FULL OF BIRDS IN THE SIZE AND MANNER OF LIFE, AS AUDUBON WOULD SAY, IN FULL COLOR, LIT BY THE NATURAL LIGHT FROM THE WINDOWS, WAS SOMETHING LIKE GOING TO A MOVIE THEATER TODAY.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN EMOTIONALLY ALMOST OVERWHELMING.

HERE WAS THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS BROUGHT TO LIFE BEFORE PEOPLE'S EYES IN THESE WONDERFUL DRAWINGS.

AUDUBON: MY DEAREST FRIEND, MY SITUATION IN EDINBURGH BORDERS ON THE MIRACULOUS.

WITHOUT EDUCATION I AM POSITIVELY LOOKED ON BY ALL THE PROFESSORS AS A VERY EXTRAORDINARY MAN.

RICHARD RHODES: AUDUBON'S FIRST ENGRAVER WAS A MAN IN EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, BUT HE WAS NOT REALLY QUITE UP TO DATE IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF ENGRAVING.

HEARD THAT THERE WAS A MORE MODERN WAY TO ENGRAVE THAT A FAMILY IN LONDON, THE HAVELL FAMILY, HAD PERFECTED.

THIS WAS CALLED AQUATINT, AND WHAT IT MEANT WAS THAT THE PLATE WAS PREPARED IN A WAY THAT YOU GOT A KIND OF SHADING IN THE AREAS WHERE COLOR WAS TO BE APPLIED.

SO THIS NEW AND MODERN WAY OF DEALING WITH ENGRAVING DREW AUDUBON FROM SCOTLAND TO LONDON WHERE HE MADE AN ARRANGEMENT WITH THE HAVELLS, WHO WERE DEFINITELY THE FINEST ENGRAVERS IN EUROPE OF THE DAY.

THE SERIES WAS GOING TO BE PAID FOR BY SUBSCRIPTION.

FIVE PLATES WOULD BE DONE AND THOSE WOULD BE DELIVERED TO A SUBSCRIBER FOR THE EQUIVALENT OF $100 FIVE MORE PLATES AND ANOTHER $100.

AND THUS ACCRUING SLOWLY YOU WOULD END UP WITH THE 435 PLATES OF THE FINISHED FOUR VOLUMES OF "THE BIRDS OF AMERICA".

KELLY BRENGELMAN: WELL THERE JOHN JAMES WAS, HE WAS IN ENGLAND, AND HE KEPT WRITING LETTERS TO HER SAYING I GOT HERE IN ENGLAND AND EVERYBODY LOVES MY WORK, AND I GOT ACCEPTED INTO ALL THESE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, AND PEOPLE LOVE IT AND I GOT GREAT REVIEWS, AND HEY, I FOUND A PUBLISHER, I'M GETTING IT PUBLISHED AND I'M TRAVELING FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS.

WELL, AT THIS POINT SHE'S OVERJOYED.

BUT THEN JOHN JAMES' LETTERS START CHANGING.

AUDUBON: MY DEAREST FRIEND, IT IS NOW MY INTENTION TO REMAIN IN ENGLAND AS LONG AS I WILL HAVE DRAWINGS TO KEEP MY WORK GOING, SAY FIVE YEARS EXCLUSIVE OF THE PRESENT YEAR.

AND IF IN JANUARY NEXT I FIND MYSELF SUBSTANTIALLY SETTLED, I WILL WRITE FOR THEE TO COME.

RICHARD RHODES: THEY CORRESPONDED, BUT MAIL WAS DELIVERED ON SAILING SHIPS IN THOSE DAYS, AND SOMETIMES IT TOOK ONE MONTH TO MAKE THE PASSAGE, AND SOMETIMES IT TOOK THREE MONTHS.

THEY SLOWLY GOT TO CROSS PURPOSES WITH EACH OTHER.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: SO THEY WOULD WRITE THESE LETTERS TO EACH OTHER WHICH WOULD CRISS-CROSS IN THE MAIL.

SO THEY'D GET ONE LETTER THAT WAS FILLED WITH ROSES AND LOVE, AND ANOTHER LETTER THAT PRETTY MUCH LASHED OUT AND TOLD EACH OTHER THAT THEY'D HAD ENOUGH AND THAT THEY DIDN'T NEED EACH OTHER ANYMORE.

LUCY AUDUBON: MY DEAR HUSBAND, I HAVE THIS DAY RECEIVED YOUR LETTER OF AUGUST.

WHERE IT HAS BEEN I CANNOT IMAGINE, BUT I AM AT ANY RATE VERY GLAD OF IT, AS YOU SPEAK OF THINGS I DID NOT KNOW BEFORE.

IF ANY CIRCUMSTANCE HAS OCCURRED TO CHANGE YOUR AFFECTION FOR ME, AS YOU RATHER INSINUATE, BE EXPLICIT AND LET ME REMAIN WHERE I AM.

AUDUBON: DO, MY LUCY, UNDERSTAND ME WELL.

MY WORK WILL NOT BE FINISHED FOR FOURTEEN YEARS TO COME, FROM THIS VERY PRESENT DATE.

AND IF IT IS THY INTENTION NOT TO JOIN ME BEFORE THAT TIME, I THINK IT WILL BE BEST FOR BOTH OF US TO SEPARATE, THOU TO MARRY IN AMERICA AND I TO SPEND MY LIFE MOST MISERABLY ALONE FOR THE REMAINDER OF MY DAYS.

DON BOARMAN: FINALLY HE CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE AND HE DECIDES TO COME BACK HOME AND GET HER, AND BRING HER TO ENGLAND WITH HIM.

HE HAD ALREADY WRITTEN HER SEVERAL TIMES, PLEASE MEET ME IN NEW YORK.

AND SHE SAID NO.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: SHE WAS ACTUALLY A QUITE STRONG WOMAN, SO SHE SAID NO.

IF YOU WANT ME, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COME TO ME.

DON BOARMAN: SO HE ARRIVES WITH TWO PURPOSES.

NUMBER ONE WAS TO GET HIS FAMILY.

AND NUMBER TWO WAS TO REPLENISH HIS SUPPLY OF BIRD PAINTINGS.

THERE WERE A LOT OF BIRDS HE KNEW ABOUT THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE SPECIMENS FOR.

HE KNEW HE HAD TO GET THOSE IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE COLLECTION.

AUDUBON: THE FISH HAWK HAS A GREAT ATTACHMENT TO THE TREE IN WHICH HE HAS BUILT HIS FIRST NEST, AND RETURNS TO IT YEAR AFTER YEAR.

THE NEST IS GENERALLY PLACED IN A LARGE TREE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE WATER.

THE YOUNG ARE FED UNTIL THEY ARE FULLY FLEDGED, AND OFTEN AFTER THEY HAVE LEFT THE NEST.

IT RISES WITH EASE TO A GREAT HEIGHT.

IT DIVES WITH WINGS PARTIALLY CLOSED.

NO SOONER DOES IT SPY A FISH SUITED TO ITS TASTE THAN IT PLUNGES HEADLONG WITH GREAT RAPIDITY INTO THE WATER TO SECURE ITS PREY.

THE LARGEST FISH WHICH I HAVE SEEN THIS BIRD TAKE OUT OF THE WATER WAS A WEAKFISH SUCH AS REPRESENTED IN THE PLATE BUT SUFFICIENTLY LARGE TO WEIGH MORE THAN FIVE POUNDS.

DON BOARMAN: SO HE HAD ACCUMULATED PERHAPS SIXTEEN NEW PAINTINGS OF BIRDS.

HE SENT THOSE TO ROBERT HAVELL BACK IN LONDON SO HE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH TO WORK ON DURING AUDUBON'S ABSENCE.

HE THEN DECIDES THAT HE'S NOT GOING TO WAIT ON LUCY, HE'S GOING AFTER HER.

HE GETS ON A BOAT AND HEADS DOWN THE RIVER.

RICHARD RHODES: WE HAD STEAM RIVERBOATS BY THEN, DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

GOT OFF IN LOUISIANA.

THE TOWN WAS EXPERIENCING A YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC AT THE TIME, IT WAS COMPLETELY ABANDONED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHEN HE ARRIVED.

AUDUBON: I WENT AT ONCE TO MY WIFE'S APARTMENT.

HER DOOR WAS AJAR.

ALREADY SHE WAS DRESSED AND SITTING AT HER PIANO.

I PRONOUNCED HER NAME GENTLY.

SHE SAW ME, AND THE NEXT MOMENT I HELD HER IN MY ARMS.

ONCE MORE WE WERE TOGETHER.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: AT THAT POINT, THAT'S WHEN THEY DECIDED THEY COULDN'T DO THIS APART, THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE TOGETHER AND LUCY JOINED HIM IN ENGLAND.

DON BOARMAN: THEY PRETTY MUCH VOWED THAT THEY WOULD NEVER SEPARATE AGAIN.

WHEN THEY GET BACK TO ENGLAND CRUIKSHANK PAINTED THE PORTRAIT OF LUCY THAT'S ABOUT THE ONLY ONE KNOWN.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: SHE BECAME HIS BUSINESS MANAGER.

SHE HELPED HIM WITH SALES, SHE KEPT ALL THE DETAILS, THE FINANCIAL DETAILS TOGETHER, BECAUSE SHE HAD THE EDUCATION AND THE KNOWLEDGE TO DO IT.

SHE FINALLY FELT LIKE SHE WAS A PART OF HER HUSBAND'S WHOLE LIFE.

NOT JUST HIS WIFE AND THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN AND HIS LOVER AND HIS CONFIDANTE, BUT SOMEONE OF WORTH.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: THE AUDUBON BRAND BECOMES A FAMILY ENTERPRISE EVENTUALLY.

LUCY BECOMES PART OF IT, HIS TWO SONS BECOME PART OF IT.

HE HAS A NETWORK OF AGENTS THAT HE CREATES, PEOPLE WHO WILL COLLECT SUBSCRIPTION FEES FOR HIM.

RICHARD RHODES: ALL OF THAT SLOWLY BUILT FOR AUDUBON A REPUTATION, NOT ONLY AS AN ARTIST, BUT ALSO AS A NATURALIST.

AUDUBON: IN SPITE OF ALL THIS I FEEL DULL, ROUGH OF TEMPER, AND LONG FOR NOTHING SO MUCH AS MY DEAR WOODS.

I AM GOING TO AMERICA AGAIN!

ROBERTA OLSON: BY 1831 AUDUBON HAD RUN OUT OF WATERCOLOR MODELS FOR HAVELL TO ENGRAVE.

SO HE CAME BACK TO THE UNITED STATES WITH LUCY AND HE EMBARKED ON TWO SOUTHEASTERN EXPLORATIONS.

AUDUBON: I JUMPED AT ONCE INTO MY WOOD-HUNTING HABITS: UP BEFORE DAYBREAK AND SOON AT WORK, EITHER IN THE WAY OF SHOOTING, TAKING VIEWS, OR DRAWING BIRDS.

LET US PAUSE A WHILE, AND WATCH THE HERON.

IN MY ESTIMATION FEW WADERS ARE MORE INTERESTING THAN THE BIRDS OF THIS FAMILY.

YOU MIGHT IMAGINE THAT WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS THE STATUE OF A BIRD, SO MOTIONLESS IT IS.

HE PATIENTLY AWAITS THE APPROACH OF HIS PREY.

AND NOW, WHAT A START!

HIS FORMIDABLE BILL HAS TRANSFIXED AN EEL.

SEE WITH WHAT DIFFICULTY HE GULPS IT DOWN HIS CAPACIOUS THROAT.

MY MIND WAS AMONG THE BIRDS FARTHER SOUTH, THE FLORIDA'S, THAT ALMOST UNKNOWN COUNTRY.

FROM NOVEMBER UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF APRIL THE AMERICAN COOT IS EXTREMELY NUMEROUS IN FLORIDA.

IN THAT SEASON THEY ARE SEEN IN FLOCKS OF SEVERAL HUNDREDS ON THE GRASSY LAKES AND INLETS.

WHILE SWIMMING THEY MOVE WITH EASE, ALTHOUGH NOT WITH MUCH SPEED.

THE CURIOUS FORM OF THEIR FEET MIGHT INDUCE ONE TO SUPPOSE THESE BIRDS INCAPABLE OF MOVING ON LAND WITH EASE.

EXPERIENCE PROVES THE CONTRARY, FOR THEY NOT ONLY WALK WITH FREEDOM BUT CAN RUN WITH GREAT SPEED WHEN NECESSARY.

THE ROSEATE SPOONBILL IS FOND OF THE COMPANY OF HERONS, WHOSE KEEN SIGHT AND VIGILANCE ARE USEFUL IN APPRISING IT OF DANGER.

THIS BEAUTIFUL BIRD IS FOUND ALONG THE MARSHY AND MUDDY BORDERS OF ESTUARIES, WHERE THEY CAN RESIDE AND BREED IN PERFECT SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ABUNDANCE OF FOOD.

THE SIGHT OF A FLOCK OF THESE BIRDS IS EXTREMELY PLEASING TO THE STUDENT OF NATURE.

THE FLIGHT OF THE BLACK SKIMMER IS PERHAPS MORE ELEGANT THAT ANY WATER BIRD WITH WHICH I AM ACQUAINTED.

THE GREAT LENGTH OF ITS NARROW WINGS, ITS PARTIALLY ELONGATED FORKED TAIL, ITS THIN BODY AND EXTREMELY COMPRESSED BILL, ALL APPEAR CONTRIVED TO ENSURE THAT BUOYANCY OF MOTION ONE CANNOT BUT ADMIRE WHEN HE SEES IT ON THE WING.

RICHARD RHODES: BY THEN HE WAS WELL ENOUGH KNOWN THAT THE GOVERNMENT LOANED HIM A GUNBOAT, WITH A COMPLETE CREW TO THREAD HIS WAY THROUGH THE WATERWAYS AROUND THE EVERGLADES.

AUDUBON: WE GET INTO A BOAT AND AFTER AN HOUR OF HARD ROWING WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE MARSHES.

WE GO WADING THROUGH MUD AND WATER TO OBSERVE THE WAYS OF THE BEAUTIFUL BEINGS WE ARE IN PURSUIT OF.

I KNOW I AM ENGAGED IN AN ARDUOUS UNDERTAKING.

BUT IF I LIVE TO COMPLETE IT I WILL OFFER TO MY COUNTRY A BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT TO THE VARIED SPLENDOR OF AMERICAN NATURE.

IF LIFE IS GRANTED TO ME, I WILL LEAVE NO PLACE IN THE WHOLE U.S. UNSEARCHED FOR BIRDS.

ROBERTA OLSON: AFTER HIS SOUTHEASTERN EXPLORATIONS, HE EMBARKED ON HIS LABRADOR EXPEDITION AND IT WAS HERE THAT AUDUBON BECAME A TRUE CONSERVATIONIST.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: LABRADOR IS A KEY EXPERIENCE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE WANTS TO GO AS HE SAYS TO WHERE THE BIRDS ORIGINATE WHERE THEY NEST.

AUDUBON: ON MY VOYAGE TO LABRADOR I OBSERVED ATLANTIC PUFFINS EVERY DAY.

KNOWN AS THE SEA PARROT TO THE FISHERMEN OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, IT IS QUITE COMMON ON THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF FUNDY, ALTHOUGH THERE IS PERHAPS NOT ONE NOW FOR A HUNDRED THAT BRED THERE TWENTY YEARS AGO.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: LABRADOR IN A SENSE LEADS HIM TO REALLY THINK MORE COMPREHENSIVELY ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT HE'S DOING, AND WHAT IT IS THAT HUMANS ARE DOING TO BIRD LIFE AROUND THEM.

HE HAS SEEN ENOUGH EVIDENCE OF THE DECLINE OF BIRD POPULATIONS AROUND HIM.

IT IS IN LABRADOR THAT HE PAINTS A STARTLING REPRESENTATION OF A DEAD BIRD IN A PLATE THAT IS NOT ANOTHER BIRD'S PREY, BUT SIMPLY DEAD, LYING THERE.

IT'S A FEMALE ESKIMO CURLEW, WE HAVE A MALE ESKIMO CURLEW LOOKING DOWN AT HIS DEAD MATE.

FROM THAT PERIOD ALSO COMES A REPRESENTATION OF GANNETS, OF A MALE GANNET SHIELDING ITS YOUNG WITH ITS BODY RIGHT BEHIND IT.

HE'S A PRE-DARWINIAN AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER THIS, HE'S NOT QUITE ABLE TO PUT THE DOTS TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH A SORT OF COMPREHENSIVE SENSE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND HIM.

BUT HE'S ABSOLUTELY AWARE THAT NATURE AROUND HIM IS CHANGING.

THE LANDSCAPES THAT HE'S SEEN ARE DIFFERENT WHEN HE COMES BACK, AND HE KNOWS THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN ON ITS OWN.

HE RETURNS TO BIRDS OF AMERICA WITH RENEWED ENERGY, REALLY PUSHING HAVELL TO FINISH, AND HAVELL RACES TO THE END.

IN 1838 THEY PULL THE LAST PLATE, THEY ARE DONE WITH WHAT IS HIS LIFE'S WORK, BASICALLY.

AUDUBON: THE TASK IS ACCOMPLISHED.

I HAVE DEPICTED THE BIRDS OF AMERICA AND STUDIED THEIR HABITS AS THEY ROAM AT LARGE IN THEIR PECULIAR HAUNTS.

YOU MAY WELL IMAGINE HOW HAPPY I AM AT THIS MOMENT, WHEN I FIND MY JOURNEY IS ALL FINISHED, MY ANXIETIES VANISHED, MY MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

RICHARD RHODES: WHEN FINALLY AROUND 1838 THIS PROJECT WAS DONE, THEY RETURNED TO AMERICA AS CELEBRITIES.

AUDUBON WAS THEN VERY QUICKLY ALMOST A NATIONAL HERO.

THEY DINED AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH THE PRESIDENT.

THIS POOR BASTARD CHILD, THIS SEMI-ORPHAN FROM FRANCE, HAD ACHIEVED THE PINNACLE OF AMERICAN SUCCESS.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: HE'S FINALLY ABLE TO GIVE LUCY THE KIND OF LIFESTYLE THAT SHE'S ALWAYS WANTED.

AND LONG TIME COMING, BUT IT FINALLY CAME.

ROBERTA OLSON: HE WROTE TO DANIEL WEBSTER IN 1841 ASKING THAT THIS COUNTRY HAVE A NATIONAL MUSEUM A NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND HE SUGGESTED TO DANIEL WEBSTER THAT HE COULD BE THE DIRECTOR.

AND HE DID SO BECAUSE HE SAW THE WRITING ON THE WALL, HE KNEW THAT BIRDS WERE THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE AND HE SAW THE RAMPANT DESTRUCTION OF HABITAT AND WILDLIFE, AND HE WANTED TO TAKE OVER THE REINS OF PRESERVATION.

WHICH IS WHY OF COURSE THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY NAMED THEIR ORGANIZATION AFTER HIM.

PAUL SWEET: THE LAST WILD PASSENGER PIGEON WAS SEEN AROUND 1900 ALTHOUGH THERE WERE SPORADIC REPORTS AFTERWARDS.

BUT WE KNOW FOR SURE THAT THE LAST EVER PASSENGER PIGEON, WHOSE NAME WAS MARTHA, DIED IN THE CINCINNATI ZOO A HUNDRED YEARS AGO IN 1914.

AUDUBON: THE MULTITUDES OF PASSENGER PIGEONS IN OUR WOODS ARE ASTONISHING.

I HAVE VIEWED A COLUMN ONE MILE IN BREADTH, PASSING OVERHEAD WITHOUT INTERRUPTION FOR THREE HOURS, AT A RATE OF ONE MILE IN THE MINUTE.

THE NOISE MADE BY THE MIGHTY FLOCK REMINDED ME OF A HARD GALE AT SEA.

JOEL CRACRAFT: FOUR TO FIVE BILLION, PROBABLY THE MOST COMMON, POTENTIALLY THE MOST COMMON VERTEBRATE ON EARTH, WAS KILLED OFF OVER A PERIOD OF PARTICULARLY ABOUT 50, 60 OR 70 YEARS.

WHICH IS PROBABLY THE MOST REMARKABLE STORY OF EXTINCTION ON EARTH.

RICHARD RHODES: AUDUBON LIVED ON THE CUSP OF THE CHANGE FROM WILDERNESS TO FARM AND INDUSTRIAL AMERICA.

THE TRAINS, THE STEAM ENGINE AND THE RAILROAD CAME IN DURING THIS PERIOD OF HIS LIFE.

SO HE SAW THE WILDERNESS IN ITS LAST FLOURISHING AND HE SAW THE BIRDS IN THEIR LAST FLOURISHING.

AUDUBON: WHEN I THINK OF THOSE TIMES AND CALL BACK TO MIND THE GRANDEUR AND BEAUTY OF THOSE ALMOST UNINHABITED SHORES; WHEN I PICTURE TO MYSELF THE DENSE AND LOFTY SUMMITS OF THE FOREST THAT EVERYWHERE SPREAD ALONG THE HILLS AND OVERHANG THE MARGIN OF THE STREAM; WHEN I SEE THAT NO LONGER ANY ABORIGINES ARE TO BE FOUND THERE, AND THAT THE VAST HERDS OF DEER AND ELK AND BUFFALO HAVE CEASED TO EXIST; WHEN I REFLECT THAT ALL THIS GRAND PORTION OF OUR UNION, INSTEAD OF BEING IN A STATE OF NATURE, IS NOW MORE OR LESS COVERED WITH VILLAGES, FARMS, AND TOWNS; WHEN I REMEMBER THAT THESE EXTRAORDINARY CHANGES HAVE ALL TAKEN PLACE IN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TWENTY YEARS...

I PAUSE, WONDER, AND CAN SCARCELY BELIEVE ITS REALITY.

CHRISTOPH IRMSCHER: IN 1843 HE GOES WEST.

HE EXPECTED TO FIND THE WEST AS GEORGE CATLIN AND OTHERS HAD DESCRIBED IT AND HE DOES NOT.

HE FINDS SOMETHING THAT DEPRESSES HIM, BECAUSE AGAIN HE'S CONFRONTED WITH MASSIVE, MASSIVE EVIDENCE OF DEVASTATION: BUFFALO BEING NEEDLESSLY KILLED; INDIANS, TO WHOM HE'S ALWAYS FELT REALLY ATTUNED, LIVING IN DINGY SURROUNDINGS, DIRTY, DISEASED.

AND HIS EYESIGHT GIVES OUT, WHICH IS KIND OF POIGNANT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT SEEING HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO HIM.

HE'S NOT ABLE TO PAINT ANYMORE, AND HE SINKS INTO SOME KIND OF MENTAL DARKNESS FOR WHICH NO NAME AT THE TIME EXISTED.

RICHARD RHODES: AUDUBON GRADUALLY FELL INTO A DECLINE AND DEVELOPED DEMENTIA.

THERE'S A VERY POIGNANT MOMENT IN A LETTER HOME FROM AN OLD FRIEND OF HIS WHO'S VISITING HIM FROM CHARLESTON, WHERE HE SAYS 'THE MAN IS TO ALL APPEARANCES THE SAME MAN, BUT THE MIND IS ALL IN RUINS.'

AND EVENTUALLY HE WAS CONFINED TO HIS BED AND HE DIED IN 1851, AT HOME, SURROUNDED BY HIS SONS AND HIS WIFE, HIS WIDOW.

THE SAD THING ABOUT BIOGRAPHY IS ALWAYS THAT THE HERO DIES IN THE END.

I ALWAYS THINK OF AUDUBON WITH HIS BIRDS AROUND HIM, OUT IN THE WOODS.

THAT'S WHERE HE SHOULD BE REMEMBERED.

IN THE FIRST MAJOR PUBLISHED ESSAY BY HENRY DAVID THOREAU THAT ESSAY OPENS WITH A TRIBUTE TO AUDUBON'S DESCRIPTIONS OF THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS.

HE REALLY WAS RIGHT AT THE HEART OF A CHANGE IN AMERICAN LIFE THAT WAS JUST BEGINNING TO BE NOTICED BY AMERICAN WRITERS LIKE EMERSON AND THOREAU.

HIS WRITINGS ABOUT THESE CHANGES WERE ONE OF THE PRECURSORS FOR THE MOVEMENT OF CONSERVATION THAT WOULD COME TOWARD THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

DANNY HEITMAN: AUDUBON REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A FORMAL PHILOSOPHY AS A CONSERVATIONIST.

BUT I THINK THE ORNITHOLOGIST ROGER TORY PETERSON SAID IT BEST, WHEN HE SAID THAT, "AUDUBON'S REAL GIFT TO US IS AWARENESS, AND IN THAT AWARENESS IS THE BEGINNING OF ALL TRUE CONSERVATION."

JOHN FITZPATRICK: HIS ART MOVED STIFF PORTRAYALS OF NATURE INTO LIVING, BREATHING, PASSIONATE, CHARACTER-FILLED PORTRAYALS.

HIS ART GAVE WAY IN THE LATE 1800'S TO THE ROMANTIC HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL AND THE GREAT PAINTINGS OF YELLOWSTONE THAT CREATED THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

JAMIE WYETH: MY FATHER WAS A GREAT ADMIRER OF AUDUBON, AS I THINK WAS MY GRANDFATHER, N.C. WYETH, I MEAN I LITERALLY GREW UP WITH HIS WORK.

I PUT HIM RIGHT UP THERE WITH REMBRANDT AND MICHELANGELO, I THINK HE'S AN EXTRAORDINARY PAINTER.

ROBERTA OLSON: THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK'S OLDEST MUSEUM FOUNDED IN 1804, HAS ALL 435 WATERCOLOR MODELS FOR THE BIRDS OF AMERICA.

THEY ARE AUDUBON'S ORIGINAL WORKS AND ALL ROOST HERE.

LUCY BAKEWELL AUDUBON SOLD THE WATERCOLORS TO THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN 1863.

KELLY BRENGELMAN: LUCY WAS A VERY STRONG WOMAN AND MANY STRONG WOMEN OFTEN OUTLIVE THE MEN IN THEIR LIVES.

SHE ALSO OUTLIVED BOTH OF HER SONS.

SHE MOVED BACK TO KENTUCKY AND MOVED IN WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTERS, WHO TOOK CARE OF HER UNTIL SHE PASSED AWAY.

SHE PASSED AWAY AND HER BODY WAS MOVED TO NEW YORK WHERE JOHN JAMES WAS LAYING.

AND THAT'S WHERE THEY REST TODAY, TOGETHER.

AUDUBON: NEITHER THIS LITTLE STREAM, THIS SWAMP, THIS GRAND SHEET OF FLOWING WATER, NOR THESE MOUNTAINS WILL BE SEEN IN A CENTURY HENCE AS I SEE THEM NOW.

THE FISHES WILL NO LONGER BASK ON THE SURFACE, THE EAGLE SCARCE EVER ALIGHT, AND THESE MILLIONS OF SONGSTERS WILL BE DROVE AWAY BY MAN.

OH, AMERICA.

LOOK UPON HER, SEE HER GRANDEUR.

NATURE STILL NURSES HER, CHERISHES HER, BUT A TEAR FLOWS IN HER EYE.

REPORTER: NOW HERE'S A QUESTION FOR YOU.

WOULD YOU PAY TEN MILLION DOLLARS FOR A BOOK?

WELL TOMORROW CHRISTIE'S WILL SELL THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BOOK AT AUCTION.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON'S 'THE BIRDS OF AMERICA' IS EXPECTED TO FETCH BETWEEN SEVEN AND TEN MILLION DOLLARS.

JOINING THE COMPANY NOW IS FRANCIS WALGREN, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL HEAD OF BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS.

UP TO TEN MILLION DOLLARS.

WHY IS IT SO VALUABLE?

FRANCIS WALGREN: IT WAS A VERY EXPENSIVE PRODUCTION AND IT'S RETAINED IT'S VALUE OVER THE YEARS.

IT'S CONTINUALLY BEEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE BOOK, ONLY IN A VERY FEW YEARS HAS IT NOT BEEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE BOOK EVER SOLD.