April 19, 2021
Lecture, presentation to detail Audubon’s work
A discussion this week at Morris Library will celebrate the paintings of naturalist John James Audubon and his travels throughout the region.
The library’s Earth Day celebration of Audubon’s “The Birds of America” is from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in John C. Guyon Auditorium. The event is free and the public is invited, but organizers note entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis with a room capacity of 46 guests. Social distancing will be observed, and masks will be required.
Jeffery M. Leving, a 1974 graduate of SIU’s radio and television program, donated hundreds of rare naturalist prints to the library in 2019, including 295 bird and mammal prints from Audubon and flower paintings by Pierre-Joseph Redoute. Audubon traveled in the region in the early 1800s capturing the likeness of many of the region’s birds during the time he lived in Henderson, Kentucky.
Morris Library Dean John Pollitz will provide the welcome and have a discussion with Leving about the collection. Nicholas Guardiano, a special collections research specialist in library affairs, will discuss Audubon’s travels throughout the area. In addition, Wes Stoerger, University Museum curator of exhibits, will discuss Audubon’s “The Birds of America Print Collection.”
The discussion was delayed last spring due to the pandemic.