• ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Our Board
    • Our Partners
    • Our Staff
    • In the News
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • ART
    • Gallery
    • BASE - Brushwood Art Supply Exchange
    • Classes >
      • Botanical Art Academy
  • MUSIC
  • WELLNESS
    • 2022 Nature Explorer Backpack Project
    • Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator
    • At Ease for Veterans
    • It's A WIN for Community Partners
    • Senior Wellness
  • RENTALS
  • SUPPORT
    • Donate
    • Become a Partner
    • Volunteer & Job Opportunities
    • Our Sponsors
Brushwood Center
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Our Board
    • Our Partners
    • Our Staff
    • In the News
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • ART
    • Gallery
    • BASE - Brushwood Art Supply Exchange
    • Classes >
      • Botanical Art Academy
  • MUSIC
  • WELLNESS
    • 2022 Nature Explorer Backpack Project
    • Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator
    • At Ease for Veterans
    • It's A WIN for Community Partners
    • Senior Wellness
  • RENTALS
  • SUPPORT
    • Donate
    • Become a Partner
    • Volunteer & Job Opportunities
    • Our Sponsors

Joel Oppenheimer to present new "The Birds of America" by John James Audubon at Ryerson Woods

6/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Joel Oppenheimer in his Chicago gallery with an original double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "The Birds of America."
Wednesday, June 187:30 – 8:30 p.m.         BOOK TALKThe Birds of America: The Bien Chromolithographic Edition

When Joel Oppenheimer recognizes a bird, it’s not because he’s a birder, but rather because the renowned art dealer has been intimately acquainted with the quintessential avian paintings of John James Audubon for decades.
Now, Oppenheimer, one of the country’s foremost authorities on Audubon, has produced and written “The Birds of America: The Bien Chromolithographic Edition.” Oppenheimer has written text to complement the first complete reproduction of the Bien chromolithographs: 150 full-color illustrations in facsimile form of “The Birds of America,” which Audubon painted more than 150 years ago.
Oppenheimer, a Chicago-based art dealer and art conservator, will give a free talk about this seminal project at 7:30 p.m., June 18 at Brushwood Center, 21850 Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods, Illinois.
[caption id="attachment_1072" align="aligncenter" width="485"] "Pileated Woodpecker" by John James Audubon.[/caption]Through his seven years of research and working with publisher, W.W. Norton and Co., Oppenheimer discovered some intriguing information, not so much about John James Audubon himself, but about his wife, Lucy, and their son, John Woodhouse Audubon.
After Audubon’s death, his son commissioned Julius Bien in 1858 to produce a new edition of his father’s works with a revolutionary chromolithographic process that omitted the painstaking steps of hand coloring each piece as had been done previously.
The family still owned the original paintings and all the original copper plates.
“The family put everything into this,” Oppenheimer said. “Lucy Audubon mortgaged their estate to finance the project. When the Civil War came, however, the project could not be completed and the family suffered a devastating bankruptcy.” Audubon’s original watercolors were sold to the New-York Historical Society in 1863.
Only 150 plates were produced in the Bien collection. They are among the rarest and most sought-after Audubon prints. When Oppenheimer secured a complete folio of the Bien collection about eight years ago, he was inspired to produce the new book.​
Picture
“There was something about the quality of this printing that captured my imagination,” he said. “In previous writings, the Bien edition had been cast aside and much maligned as being a poor quality reproduction. I bought this set and it was an exquisite example of chromolithography and Audubon’s work.”
Oppenheimer said his new book “is a very specific treatment of one particular edition of Audubon’s work that had never been examined in depth at a scholarly level. There’s a lot of new information in the book, a lot of discovery from original research.”
The June 18 event is presented through a partnership between Brushwood Center and Lake County Forest Preserves. A limited number of books will be available for purchase ($350) and signing. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Brushwood Center. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe

    Author

    This blog is written by the staff and partners of Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

    Archives

    February 2022
    April 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    November 2018
    April 2018
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
BRUSHWOOD CENTER AT RYERSON WOODS
21850 N. Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015
224.633.2424
info@brushwoodcenter.org


SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Our Board
    • Our Partners
    • Our Staff
    • In the News
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • ART
    • Gallery
    • BASE - Brushwood Art Supply Exchange
    • Classes >
      • Botanical Art Academy
  • MUSIC
  • WELLNESS
    • 2022 Nature Explorer Backpack Project
    • Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator
    • At Ease for Veterans
    • It's A WIN for Community Partners
    • Senior Wellness
  • RENTALS
  • SUPPORT
    • Donate
    • Become a Partner
    • Volunteer & Job Opportunities
    • Our Sponsors