John James Audubon first rose to fame through the 435 magnificent paintings he created for his landmark work, Birds of America, which detailed more than 700 bird species and was first published as a series on a subscription basis between 1827 and 1838. He shot and killed every bird he painted. Audubon was a noted hunter and taxidermist, and much of the money he made during his lifetime was from selling animal skins, a practice that in part helped to fund the printing of Birds of America.
John James Audubon
