ABSTRACT
A viewer attending the 1993 traveling exhibition of John James Audubon’s watercolors was able to observe firsthand a peculiar change the artist made in his illustration of the golden eagle. In the bottom left corner of the original watercolor sketch (Figure 1), Audubon included a tiny figure carefully inching its way along a fallen tree. This figure, clad in buckskins and carrying a slain eagle over his shoulder, has traditionally been identified as Audubon himself, for it bears a physical resemblance to the artist, and it seems to be engaged in a task typical for him—obtaining specimens for his studies. 1 Yet in the final Havell engraving (Plate No. CLXXXI), Audubon has erased all trace of this autobiographical figure—the log is still there, but the man has vanished (Figure 2). One might ask, what is behind this sudden urge of self-erasure in an artist whose skill at self-promotion was as well developed as his skill at sketching birds? Why does Audubon deny himself this little autobiographical gesture?
