Gould Toucans original Gould Toucan prints


	CHICAGO Wrigley Building 410 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60611 312-642-5300	CHARLESTON The Audubon Gallery 190 King Street. Charleston, South Carolina 29401 843-853-1100
The NATURAL HISTORY ART GALLERY

John Gould
A Monograph of Ramphastidae or Family of Toucans 1834 and 1854
John Gould (1804-1881) was the most prolific artist and publisher of ornithological subjects of all time. In nineteenth century Europe his name was as well known as Audubon's was here in North America. Unlike Audubon, whose life's work focused on one region, Gould traveled widely and employed other artists to help create his lavish hand-colored lithographic folios. Nearly 3,000 lithographs were created during the span of his long career. The Family of Toucans is the most flamboyant of Gould's works. These remarkable lithographs are all first edition. Many of the lithographs in the first edition were drawn by Edward Lear and are extremely sought after. The exotic Toucans have a sense of familiarity because they are among the most often reproduced images of all bird art. The name Toucan is derived from the Tupi Indians of Brazil who call them Tucano. Their origin is the tropical rain forests of the Americas.