Audubon Aquatint, Three-toed Woodpecker

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Three-toed Woodpecker, Plate 132.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
39" x 26 1/2" sheet.

Comparables: Christie's, 2004 - $11,950; Arader Galleries, 2017 - $7,930.

Provenance: John Vickers Painter's Deckled Collection, with full uncut margins.

"It is a restless, active bird, spending its time generally on the topmost branches of the tallest trees, without, however, confining itself to pines. Although it cannot be called shy, its habitual restlessness renders it difficult of approach. Its movements resemble those of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, but it is still more petulant than that bird. Like it, it will alight, climb along a branch, seek for insects there, and in a very few moments remove to another part of the same tree, or to another tree at more or less distance, thus spending the day in rambling over a large extent of ground. Its cries also somewhat resemble those of the species above mentioned, but are louder and more shrill, like those of some small quadruped suffering great pain." - (Audubon's Ornithological Biography, 1831).