Collection Highlights
Decanter and stopper
1823-1845
1936.696ab
Glass
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), Havell plate no. 106
Title
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), Havell plate no. 106
Date
1829
Medium
Watercolor, pastel, black chalk, collage, black ink, and graphite with selective glazing on paper, laid on card
Dimensions
Paper: 23 7/16 x 36 1/4 in. (59.5 x 92.1 cm)
Mat: 39 x 53 in. (99.1 x 134.6 cm)
Description
Two adult Black Vultures with the head of a White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
Credit Line
Purchased for the Society by public subscription from Mrs. John J. Audubon
Object Number
1863.17.106
Gallery Label
Bird on left and deer's head painted in 1829; second bird added later; Audubon presented a scientific paper in 1826 regarding the vultures in which he asserted that the birds rely on sight rather than smell to locate food; his theory that vultures have an underdeveloped sense of smell met resistance at the time but was later confirmed through experiments
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
