# John Woodhouse Audubon artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/john-woodhouse-audubon/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T04:52:15.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1812-11-30
- Death date: 1862-02-21
- Nationality: American
- Movements: 19th-century American wildlife art
- Common media: oil on canvas, watercolor, lithograph, pencil drawing

## About John Woodhouse Audubon

John Woodhouse Audubon (1812–1862) was an American painter, illustrator, and draftsman best known as the second son of the celebrated naturalist and artist John James Audubon. Born on November 30, 1812, he grew up immersed in his father's ambitious natural history projects. Like his father, John Woodhouse devoted himself to depicting North American wildlife, becoming a key contributor to The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–1848), the landmark folio documenting the continent's mammals. When John James Audubon's health declined in the 1840s, John Woodhouse assumed responsibility for painting many of the mammal illustrations that completed the project. Beyond wildlife art, he produced portraits and genre scenes depicting scenes of American westward expansion. He died in New York City on February 21, 1862. His work remains of interest to collectors of American natural history illustration and 19th-century American art.

## Common works and media

John Woodhouse Audubon's most frequently encountered works include oil paintings and watercolors of North American mammals and birds, original pencil and ink drawings used as preparatory studies for The Quadrupeds of North America, hand-colored lithographic plates from the imperial folio and octavo editions of that series, and occasional portraits and western genre scenes. Lithographs from the Quadrupeds series represent the most accessible segment of his market, while original paintings and watercolors are considerably rarer.

## Market and appraisal context

John Woodhouse Audubon's work appears regularly at auction, with original oil paintings, watercolors, and preparatory drawings commanding the strongest prices. Lithographic plates from The Quadrupeds of North America are more widely available and generally trade at lower levels. Collectors should be aware that attribution can be complex: John Woodhouse collaborated closely with his father, and some works have been reattributed over time. Provenance, condition, and clear documentation of authorship are important factors in valuation. Wildlife subjects, particularly North American mammals and birds, tend to attract the most collector interest.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine published artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house catalog notes, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. For John Woodhouse Audubon, identity data is grounded in the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Getty ULAN, Wikidata, and VIAF authority files, supplemented by published biographical references including Bénézit and Groce/Wallace.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/2920
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18508415
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woodhouse_Audubon
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500029919
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/29446802/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr98018569