Peregrine Falcons (Duck Hawks)

About the Artwork

A vigorous portrayal of two peregrine falcons with their fresh duck prey, John James Audubon's painting relates to his groundbreaking Birds of America publication that sought to depict every species of native North American bird posed in action with elements of their habitats. Based on his artistic and scientific successes, Audubon became the premier naturalist in the United States. After his death, he continued to be associated with bird and nature conservation, and several organizations devoted to such causes were named in his honor. However, in recent years, as Audubon's slaveholding and looting of Indigenous graves has become more widely acknowledged, an increasing number of these groups are changing their names.

Exhibition history

Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965). Work of John James Audubon. Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 30-June 30, 1974). Heritage and Horizon: American Painting 1776 - 1976. Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY (organizer) (March 7-April 11, 1976); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (May 2-June 13, 1976); The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (July 4-August 15, 1976); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 8-October 10, 1976). Science within Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-April 20, 1980); Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood, OH (June 1-July 1, 1980). A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15-December 16, 1981). John James Audubon: American Artist and Naturalist. Cleveland Museum of Natural History (organizer) (February 10-April 29, 2007).

Quick Overview

Artist: John James Audubon (American, born Haiti, 1785–1851)
Date: c. 1827
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 74.9 x 101 x 10.2 cm (29 1/2 x 39 3/4 x 4 in.); Unframed: 64.5 x 91.5 cm (25 3/8 x 36 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: American Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of the American Foundation for the Maud E. and Warren H. Corning Botanical Collection
Accession no.: 1964.351

Provenance

c. 1827-: John James Audubon [1785-1851], New York, NY, by descent to his wife, Lucy Bakewell Audubon ?: Lucy Bakewell Audubon [1787-1874], New York, NY, by descent to her son, John Woodhouse Audubon ?: John Woodhouse Audubon [1812-1862], New York, NY, by descent to his daughter, Lucy A. Williams ?: Lucy Audubon Williams [1838-1909], Greenburgh, Westerchester, NY, probably by descent to her grandson, Charles F. Edwards ?: Charles F. Edwards [1878-1954], Chicago, IL and Alameda, CA, by descent to his sister, Margaret McCormick ?: Mrs. H.V. (Margaret) McCormick, Long Island, NY and Staten Island, NY, sold to Kennedy Galleries by 1964: (Kennedy Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1964-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.