Edition Information

 
Ready to Ship
White-crowned Sparrow
by Todd R. Forsgren

ARTIST STATEMENT

To create his paintings, John James Audubon shot birds and contorted their bodies into dramatic poses by wiring and pinning them onto boards. The quirky and flamboyant postures he used were not immediately popular with the scientific community, but today they are renowned.

It was Roger Tory Peterson who pioneered the idea of a field guide. His guides highlight observable marks, pointed out by carefully placed arrows, which allow for the identification of birds at a distance. Peterson painted thousands of systematic illustrations of birds in static poses based on photographs, bird skins and field observations. Field guides have allowed hobbyists, artists and scientists to identify birds with binoculars instead of a shotgun.

Ornithologists now use mist nets. These nearly invisible nets are set up like fences and function as huge spider webs, catching unsuspecting birds. The researcher carefully extracts the bird from the net. Each bird is measured, aged, sexed and banded with an individually numbered anklet. Then the bird is released.

I photographed these birds while they are caught in mist nets, moments before the ornithologist extracts them. Here, the birds inhabit a fascinating space between our framework of the bush and the hand. It is a fragile and embarrassing moment before they disappear back into the woods, and into data.

newsletter Learn more - read Jen's introduction to this edition.

More about Todd R. Forsgren.tinyarrow

More art by Todd R. Forsgren

  • White-eyed Vireo

White-crowned Sparrow

by Todd R. Forsgren

archival pigment print

  • Custom Order

    Select your print and frame:
    • 11"x8.5" 24
    • 22"x17" 240
    • 40"x30" 2400
      Add frame 3200
      • Black Frame 3200
      • White Frame 3200

  • Unframed prints usually ship within 5 days of purchase.

  • Custom orders ship 3 to 4 weeks after purchase. For faster delivery, select Ready to Ship. Quantities and selection of Ready-to-Ship art are limited.

  • amazon

ADDITIONAL PRINT INFORMATION

  • Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
  • Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper
  • Artist-signed + numbered certificate of authenticity included
  • Directly supports the artist

These prints are created using archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper with a matte finish.

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

 

How to Frame Your Art

All of our prints have a minimum border of .25 inches to allow for framing. We do not alter the aspect ratio, crop or resize the artists' originals—quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the image, not the printed image itself. For exact image sizes and more helpful info, view our framing guides: