Long-Tailed Deer 1847

John James Audubon created this print of a Long-Tailed Deer in the first half of the 19th century. Audubon's prints were not just artworks; they were part of a larger project to document and classify the natural world of North America. This image of a deer, captured mid-leap, speaks to the scientific ambitions of its time. During the 19th century the rise of natural history as a science was a cultural phenomenon. There was a growing desire to understand and categorize the world. Audubon’s images catered to that desire, providing detailed and accurate representations of wildlife. But these prints also fed into a romantic vision of the American landscape. They celebrated the natural abundance of the continent, even as industrialization and westward expansion began to threaten it. To truly understand Audubon’s art, we need to consider the social and intellectual context in which he worked. His prints speak to a particular moment in the history of science, art, and the environment.