The Greenwich Audubon has combined forces with Joel Oppenheimer, the venerable natural history art gallery located in Chicago and Charleston. This gallery is best known for the work of many outstanding naturalist artists and painters including John James Audubon.
The Greenwich Audubon, the first established nature education center in the country by the National Audubon Society has a long history of protecting birds and their habitats as well as teaching people the principles of conservation.
The gallery will be located in the newly renovated Kiernan Hall and will feature four exhibits a year. The first exhibition, opening December 1 explores all the editions of Audubon’s work in the Nineteenth Century. A highlight of this exhibition is that it will show comparative examples of nine prints in the different versions including Havell, Bien, Octavo and watercolor editions. The subjects that will be featured in the exhibit are the Osprey, the Great Blue Heron, the Carolina Parrot, the Gyr Falcon, the Great Egret, the Passenger Pigeon, the Louisiana Heron, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird and the Dusky Duck.
Joel Oppenheimer, president of his namesake gallery, author, and one of the foremost Audubon experts in the world, sees this collaboration as an opportunity to educate and bring Audubon’s rich history to life, “John James Audubon is considered to be perhaps the greatest natural history artist of all time. His body of work in ornithological art is iconic. Collectors and admirers of his works continue to be enthralled with his accomplishments and how he shaped the genre of natural history art. Audubon brought images of birds and mammals to life during his time of exploration and we want his work to continue to inspire current and future generations. We are grateful to have this opportunity to collaborate with The Audubon Center of Greenwich both in its conservation efforts and in telling Audubon’s story,” said Oppenheimer.
It is the hope of the Audubon Greenwich that these ornithological masterpieces will inspire and engage people in the conservation of birds and their habitats.
At the December 1st grand opening reception, Joel Oppenheimer will talk about the significance of Audubon’s contribution to art and conservation. His remarks will begin at 7:00 p.m. Private showings of the exhibit can be scheduled from 1:00 – 4:00 by appointment. All prints in the exhibition can be purchased either framed, or without. Thirty percent of the proceeds from sales will be donated on an ongoing basis to The Audubon Center of Greenwich. The opening reception will be held on Dec. 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
To R.S.V.P. for the Grand Opening on December 1, 2012, or to make a gallery appointment, contact Audubon Greenwich by phone (203-869-5272 x239) or by email (greenwichcenter@audubon.org)
About Joel Oppenheimer
Established in 1969, the fine art galleries of Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. in Chicago and Charleston offer a stunning array of natural history art from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, as well as fine art framing, and complete conservation and restoration services. As a natural history art gallery, Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. is dedicated to the connoisseurship of collecting and preserving the art of natural history and celebrating the contributions of the explorers who recorded the flora and fauna of the past three centuries. Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. strives to provide collectors with an unsurpassed selection of the finest examples of prints and paintings from the golden age of natural history art including rare works by John James Audubon, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Dr. Robert Thornton, John Gould, Basilius Besler, and many others.
