Collection Highlights
Section of water pipe
1800-1840
X.47
Wood, iron
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis), Havell plate no. 341
Title
Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis), Havell plate no. 341
Date
c. 1834-36
Medium
Watercolor, graphite, pastel, black ink, and black chalk with scratching out and touches of glazing on paper, laid on card
Dimensions
Paper: 24 3/16 x 36 5/8 in. (61.4 x 93 cm)
Mat: 39 x 53 in. (99.1 x 134.6 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased for the Society by public subscription from Mrs. John J. Audubon
Object Number
1863.17.341
Inscriptions
Inscribed at lower left in graphite: "No 69. Plate 341."; at lower center: "Great Auk. Alca impennis, Linn."; at middle left in graphite: an arrow instructing the engraver to move the left bird further left in the print
Gallery Label
Audubon painted this auk from a specimen, only about 10 years before it became extinct; he never actually saw it in nature, but heard one described by Henry Havell, the brother of his engraver, who saw it on a trip from New York to England
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
