The Oppenheimer Gallery at Audubon Greenwich Opens with Premier Exhibition “Exploring Audubon’s Art”
Chicago, Illinois, Date, 2012 – Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. (www.audubonart.com) the venerable natural history art gallery with locations in Chicago and Charleston known for the works of the iconic John James Audubon and many other renowned natural history artists is announcing the opening of the Oppenheimer Gallery at Audubon Greenwich.The Audubon Center of Greenwich, the National Audubon Society’s first nature education center, has a storied history of protecting birds and their habitats and engaging people in conservation, and will partner with the new gallery to create exhibits that directly link the works of art with its bird conservation efforts. The Oppenheimer Gallery at Audubon Greenwich opens Saturday, December 1.
The gallery will reside in the newly renovated Kiernan Hall and will feature four exhibits a year. The first exhibition will explore all the editions of Audubon’s work in the Nineteenth Century, showing comparative examples of nine prints in the different versions, which are the Havell, Bien, Octavo and watercolor editions. The subjects to be featured in the exhibit are the Osprey, the Great Blue Heron, the Carolina Parrot, the Gyr Falcon, the Great Egret, the Passenger Pigeon, the Louisiana Heron, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird and the Dusky Duck.
Joel Oppenheimer, president of his namesake gallery, author, and one of the foremost Audubon experts in the world, sees this collaboration as an opportunity to educate and bring Audubon’s rich history to life, “John James Audubon is considered to be perhaps the greatest natural history artist of all time. His body of work in ornithological art is iconic. Collectors and admirers of his works continue to be enthralled with his accomplishments and how he shaped the genre of natural history art. Audubon brought images of birds and mammals to life during his time of exploration and we want his work to continue to inspire current and future generations. We are grateful to have this opportunity to collaborate with The Audubon Center of Greenwich both in its conservation efforts and in telling Audubon’s story,” said Oppenheimer.
“We are excited to work with Joel Oppenheimer to introduce our members and visitors to the works of John James Audubon, our namesake and inspiration,” explained Karen Dixon, Director of the Greenwich Center. “It is our hope that these ornithological masterpieces will likewise inspire and engage people in the conservation of birds and their habitats.”
At the December 1st grand opening reception, Joel Oppenheimer will talk about the significance of Audubon’s contribution to art and conservation. His remarks will begin at 7:00 p.m. Private showings of the exhibit can be scheduled from 1:00 – 4:00 by appointment. All prints in the exhibition can be purchased either framed, or without. Thirty percent of the proceeds from sales will be donated on an ongoing basis to The Audubon Center of Greenwich.
Established in 1969, the fine art galleries of Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. in Chicago and Charleston offer a stunning array of natural history art from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, as well as fine art framing, and complete conservation and restoration services. As a natural history art gallery, Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. is dedicated to the connoisseurship of collecting and preserving the art of natural history and celebrating the contributions of the explorers who recorded the flora and fauna of the past three centuries. Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. strives to provide collectors with an unsurpassed selection of the finest examples of prints and paintings from the golden age of natural history art including rare works by John James Audubon, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Dr. Robert Thornton, John Gould, Basilius Besler, and many others.
