Catesby Pl. 47, The Blue Bird

The Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition print of Catesby Pl. 47, The Blue Bird captures the quintessential style and charm of Mark Catesby’s original engraving.

Printed with archival pigments on rag watercolor paper, this modern facsimile print is part of a museum-sanctioned limited edition of 500. Meticulously proofed to faithfully capture Catesby’s original artwork, this Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition print is the perfect addition to your home interior and a great gift for the nature lovers in your life.

About The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands

The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands – Mark Catesby’s most memorable folio – visually documents the flora and fauna of colonial America through hand-colored engravings. Catesby, an English artist-naturalist, set out on an expedition of discovery to learn about the uncharted animalia of the Americas. As a self-taught artist, Catesby takes a unique approach to rendering the natural world. His prints are charming and possess an almost medieval quality. The Natural History and Appendix (1731, 1754, and 1771 editions) contain 220 prints substantiating the earliest colored book on American birds.

The Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition publication of Mark Catesby’s The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands makes available 20 of his most spectacular works as modern limited-edition prints. Produced in complete fidelity to the original hand-colored engravings housed in the Field Museum collection, the Oppenheimer Editions facsimiles capture the delicate linework and intricate detail of Catesby’s artwork.

About Mark Catesby

Mark Catesby was an English self-taught artist and explorer who created one of the first folios examining the flora and fauna of North America. Born in 1682, Catesby traveled to the New World on a legendary discovery expedition a century before the renowned artist-naturalist John James Audubon first published his work, The Birds of America. His exploration of the southern British colonies resulted in the publication of his illustrated folio, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Catesby also contributed to the research of renowned taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus (1707—1778), who included over 70 of Catesby’s bird illustrations in his landmark work, Systema Naturae.

About Oppenheimer Editions

Established in 1999, our publishing company Oppenheimer Editions was developed in order to produce modern facsimiles of historic works of art. Marrying cutting-edge digital printing technologies with canonical works of art, Oppenheimer Editions has partnered with prestigious museums to make their holdings accessible to the public as fine art prints. Works from the New-York Historical Society’s unrivaled collections of John James Audubon’s watercolors and the Hudson River School paintings are examples of art that otherwise would be unobtainable.

Among the institutional collections we have partnered with are the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Our Oppenheimer Editions prints are not mere reproductions. Rather, they are limited-edition fine art prints made with the finest quality archival pigments on rag watercolor paper and executed to exacting standards.

For more information about Catesby Pl. 47, The Blue Bird , email us at [email protected] or check out our articles Spontaneous Surrealism in Mark Catesby’s Artwork and Catesby’s Crustaceans – Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands.

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