Author Archives: Ana Norman

Freaks of Nature: Some of Nature’s Most Unusual Birds

With prehistoric links to the Jurassic period, the world of birds is rife with some [...]

Natural History Art Treasures under $10,000

Collecting original art doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, there are a surprising number [...]

A Guide to Collecting Antique Botanical Prints

Loved for their beauty, whimsy, and relative affordability, botanical prints offer a wonderful avenue for [...]

An Obsession with Natural History and Victorian Collecting Crazes

Spanning the majority of the 19th century, the Victorian era was marked by a rise [...]

Collecting Guide: Oppenheimer Editions Audubon Prints

Since its inception in 1996, our publishing company Oppenheimer Editions has partnered with major institutions [...]

Exploring Early Methods of Specimen Collection in Natural History Art

Have you ever wondered where the reference material for antique wildlife prints and paintings came [...]

The Alchemy of Nature – Using Gold in Natural History Art

While found less frequently in natural history art than other genres, gold nonetheless makes an [...]

The Hudson River School Painters

Recognized as the first distinctively American art movement, the Hudson River School comprised a group [...]

John Gould’s Family of Hummingbirds Lithographs

John Gould’s monograph The Family of Hummingbirds is considered the crowning achievement of his illustrious [...]

The Language of Paper – Deciphering the Secrets of Antique Paper through Its Material Qualities

Often indications of a paper’s place of origin, method of manufacture, and time of creation [...]

Evolving Impressions – Unfolding the History of Prints as Art Objects and Collectibles

From their conception, prints have served both constructive and aesthetic purposes. In contrast to more [...]

How to Distinguish Between the Various Editions of Besler’s ‘Garden of Eichstätt’

A practical guide to understanding and identifying the different editions of Besler’s folio through paper [...]

Casualties of Fashion: The Contentious History of Plume Plundering

Though the idea of ornamenting oneself with a bird carcass may be a bit deterring [...]

What is a Lithograph? A Practical Guide to Understanding and Identifying Lithographic Prints

Have you ever wondered 'What is a lithograph?' This practical guide to lithography examines the [...]

What is an Engraving? A Guide to Intaglio Printmaking Techniques

This article will examine the intaglio printmaking processes of engraving, etching, and their subsidiaries in [...]

The Birds of Paradise: One of Nature’s Most Elusive, Ostentatious, and Promiscuous Families

The Introduction of Birds-of-Paradise to the Western Imagination

Investigating Audubon’s 50 Best Watercolors

The Oppenheimer Editions Fine Art Prints of Audubon's Watercolors for The Birds of America

Interspecific Encounters in Audubon’s Birds of America

Picturing Combat between Different Species in Audubon's Prints

Plant Mutations in the Botanical Prints of Pierre-Joseph Redouté

A consideration of the artistic rendering of the Tulip Breaking Virus, and the phenomenon of [...]

Encountering the Amazon through Margaret Mee’s Lens

A consideration of Mee's implicit and overt depictions of symbiotic ecosystems in her paintings of [...]

The Articulation of Macabre Bird Habits in John Gould’s Prints

Exposing the unsavory tendencies of the Common Cuckoo and Great Grey Shrike in Gould’s Birds [...]

Audubon’s Miniature Folio – The Octavo Edition of Birds of America

A survey of the technical translation of Audubon’s work from the monumental to the miniature.

A Modernist Approach to Understanding a Selection of Prints from Audubon’s Birds of America

A Discussion of Spatial and Perspectival Distortion, Challenging the Confines of the Print Perimeter, and [...]

What are the differences between an Audubon Havell engraving and Bien Lithograph?

How to differentiate between John James Audubon's two Double-Elephant folio Editions of The Birds of [...]

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The Historical Allure of Variegated Tulips

Visualizing expansion, abundance, and prestige through depictions of "broken" tulips in the art of Basilius [...]

The East Asian Influence in Audubon’s Art

A consideration of the increasingly globalized trade networks of the 19th century and their impact [...]

The Controversy Surrounding Audubon’s ‘Bird of Washington’

A consideration of the complex and convoluted history of Audubon's unidentified rapacious species

Original Duck & Geese Paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes

A beautiful selection of original watercolor paintings by renowned artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes has recently [...]

The Historical Significance of Botanical Illustration

A consideration of the motives behind picturing plants including the functional uses and theoretical implications [...]

The Symbolic Implications of the Pineapple

Visually flamboyant, gustatorily delicious, and polarizing when placed on pizza, the pineapple is a fruit [...]