Whooping Crane

Artist John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)

Date1834

Dimensions38 x 26 in. (96.5 x 66 cm)

Mediumetching with aquatint and hand coloring

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of an anonymous donor

Object number

1958.2

Not on View

Label TextThe tallest bird in North America at just under five feet, the Whooping Crane posed a problem for Audubon and his engraver. Because Audubon wanted to portray birds at their actual size, the large crane had to be posed in such a way that it would fit on the double elephant folio paper, the largest sheet of paper available at the time. Audubon had observed a whooping crane feeding on baby alligators in Louisiana and used this activity as a premise for the bird’s bent and angled neck. Even so, the crane is literally too big to be contained by the etching plate—hand-coloring is used to extend the neck, beak, and tail beyond the plate mark. Plentiful in Audubon’s time, the Whooping Crane population was reduced by hunting and loss of habitat to a mere 15 birds by 1941. Careful cultivation has increased the population to about 600, but it remains severely endangered. It gets its common name from its resounding call, which can carry for miles.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 229, repr. (col.).Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, For the Birds, April 13-October 14, 2012.