To understand the Ward's influence on Victorian Taxidermy in many Countries you first have to understand where Henry Ward got his inspiration from. That inspiration came in the form of John James Audubon.
Audubon was born in the French colony of Santo Domingo (now Haiti), the son of Captain Jean Audubon, a French sailor and adventurer, and one of his mistresses, Jeanne Rabine, a French chambermaid / slave, who died six months later. According to his birth records, John Audubon was born jean Rabine on a plantation in Les Cayes, Haiti, in 1785. Growing up in America, Audubon quickly fell in love with the eastern Pennsylvania countryside and its animals, often roaming the woods and fields incongruously wearing satin breeches and silk stockings. His father had purchased the estate so his son could live in America and avoid conscription into Napoleon's army. Only 18 years old at the time, Audubon set out to paint natural scenes in the Pennsylvania countryside he became an enthusiastic and skilled hunter, both for sport and for his art. He collected all kinds of wildlife specimens, which he both preserved and sketched in attic rooms at Mill Grove. Audubon was educated in France and came to the United States in 1803. About this time his father died, leaving him an estate in France and the sum of $17,000.
At the age of twenty, Audubon left Amercia for a year with his family in France, where he rendered birds in pastel. He also gained his father's approval to marry Lucy Bakewell, daughter of William Bakewell, an Englishman who owned Fatland Ford, an estate adjoining Mill Grove. His house at Mill Grove became a museum, filled with stuffed animals, and decorated with festoons of birds' eggs, and with drawings of birds and beasts. He became an excellent marksman, and was also at this time quite a dandy, if we may credit his own account
Because he was familiar with the activities of his subjects and used freshly killed birds wired in his unique manner, Audubon was able to capture the shapes, textures, plumage, colors, and typical positions of his birds more accurately than other artists
At age 35, Audubon embarked on The Birds of America, producing 435 hand-colored engravings and publishing double elephant folios (1828-1838), followed by a smaller, octavo-sized, version. Audubon set out on the imposing task of observing, collecting and painting all of the known bird species in America. He took his bird paintings to a publisher in Edinburgh, Scotland, and they were printed in Birds of America between 1827 and 1838, with the text, Ornithological Biography, appearing in five volumes between 1831 and 1839. William MacGillivray, a Scottish naturalist, collaborated with Audubon on the text and supplied most of the scientific data. Audubon had completed more than 400 paintings by 1838. Audubon used watercolor and pastels to capture the images of 1,065 birds
The first artist to portray birds consistently in life size, Audubon employed different formats for small songbirds than for larger hawks, owls, and shorebirds. He varied his approaches-- nearly a decade apart-- to portray the great American white pelican. His first version emphasized the bird's ungainly appearance on land with its short, thick legs, large feet, flattened body, and small head supporting a huge, broad bill. (The V-formation of pelicans soaring in the distance suggested their grace in flight.) Attracted to the species by its "gravity and stateliness," Audubon apparently concluded that this image was too undignified and never printed it. Instead, he executed a second version, a majestic profile, which accurately recorded the subtly different shades and textures of the pelican's plumage and anatomical structure. This image debuted in The Birds of America. He also invented a skeletal wiring device used to hold birds in realistic poses for Audubon to sketch them.
Audubon spent more than a decade in business, eventually traveling down the Ohio River to western Kentucky – then the frontier – and setting up a dry-goods store in Henderson. He continued to draw birds as a hobby, amassing an impressive portfolio. While in Kentucky, Lucy gave birth to two sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse, as well as a daughter who died in infancy. Audubon was quite successful in business for a while, but hard times hit, and in 1819 he was briefly jailed for bankruptcy.
After achieving much success with birds, Audubon set out to draw the animals of America. He did manage to draw many of them, but was not able to complete the huge task. His last big trip was out west to follow the buffalo herds in the 1840's. In 1847 he suffered a stroke, and his health deteriorated.
Audubon settled in New York City with his family and lived at 86 White Street. Audubon purchased property in northern Manhattan from the proceeds of his books in 1839. The 24-acre property extended from 153rd Street to 160th Street and from the Hudson River to what is now Amsterdam Avenue. The property became known as "Minniesland," which was named in honor of his wife's nickname and was also the Scottish name for "mother." Audubon's sons, Victor and John Woodhouse, built homes near their parents' estate on the shore of the Hudson River.Audubon had several animals on his property that he enjoyed to watch and care for. Migratory birds such as hawks, crows and owls made their homes in many of the trees. There were caged otters, martens and muskrats as well
Audubon spent his last years in senility and died at age 65. He is buried in the Trinity Cemetery at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City. The New York Historical Society purchased 430 of the 433 original watercolors from The Birds of America from Lucy Audubon in 1863. The total cost was $4,000. Audubon's images are so valued that Haiti in 1975 commemorated his birth there by releasing a series of stamps and prints that featured his bird portraits
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