Brenau University Trustee Library will host an engaging, informative presentation on the works of John James Audubon on Monday, Sept. 15, in the library and adjacent Thurmond McRae Auditorium. 

The event includes a 5:30 p.m. reception in the library showcasing Brenau’s impressive four-volume “double elephant folio” set of his seminal work, “Birds of America,” anthologies of the 19th Century naturalist’s paintings. Afterward, there will be a 6:30 p.m. presentation in the auditorium that examines the significance of Audubon’s work and its importance for its original subscribers as well as audiences today from scientific, historical, artistic and ecological perspectives. Both the reception and presentation are open to the public, free of charge. 

“We are delighted with the opportunity to open our doors to the community and share our excitement about these marvelous works of art,” said Marlene Giguere, dean of library services at the university. “At the same time, we are fortunate to have members of the Brenau faculty who can explain their significance and put them in perspective in an entertaining and informative way.” 

The books, containing more than 400 colorful life-size print illustrations of North American bird species derived from an original plates for edition of Audubon’s paintings in his seminal work, were donated to the library Dr. J. Delano and Caroline Mixon, who is a former member of the Brenau biology faculty. The Mixons stipulated that the university share their gift as much as possible with the general public. They will be on hand for the Sept. 15 event. 

In a presentation entitled “Across the Divide: Audubon, Art and Science,” Brenau art history professor Mary Beth Looney and biology professor and avian veterinarian Louise Bauck will discuss the historical context of the books and the author who created their contents as well as use selected photographs of some of their images of birds to spark discussions of related scientific studies. 

Charles Seabrook, long-time author of the popular “Wild Georgia” column that appears each Sunday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will also be on hand. Seabrook, who was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles in the Atlanta newspapers about disappearing songbirds, often writes in his column about birds in North Georgia. 

“These books are really amazing because they replicate the original scale that Audubon’s 19th century subscribers would have received, in sets of 6 or 7 illustrations at a time,” said Looney.  “Audubon’s insistence on these life-size depictions reflects his pseudo-scientific interests in the flora and fauna of North America.  His infusion of dynamism and anthropomorphic qualities in the birds – both in his writings and his illustrations – reflect his absorption of Romanticism as well as the Age of Enlightenment.” In her portion of the presentation, Looney also examines preceding influential colonial American founding fathers, artists and naturalists as well as the work of contemporary artist Walton Ford, who often addresses Audubon’s artistic process from more modern ecological and sociological points of view.

Bauck and Looney also address some of the modern criticism of Audubon, who usually shot his subjects before painting them. “I don’t blame Audubon,” said Bauck, who explains that high-speed cameras and other tools of today’s naturalists were not available in the early 19th Century. “He was also a keen observer and meticulous in detail in his writing about them, so you have to temper his killing birds with his obvious love of nature.” Audubon’s detailed descriptions of the distinctive sounds made by the ivory-billed woodpecker, for example, were exactly what researchers, armed with sound-activated recording devices, hoped to collect in the past few years after a reported sighting one of the species, long thought to be extinct. 

The ivory-billed woodpecker is one of the “star performers” in the Brenau Audubon book collection. However, with pages measuring 39½ inches by 28½ inches and each volume weighing as much as a bag of cement, they are not the kinds of things you can check out and carry home in a backpack. All four volumes will be available for viewing under the careful, white-gloved supervision of Brenau’s special collections librarian. 

“We really do want people to see them,” said Giguere. “This event gives us a chance to re-enforce that the books and the Brenau library are a valuable resource to this community.”