John Woodhouse Audubon's contribution to American art and natural history will always be measured against the accomplishments and reputation of his famous father, John James Audubon, the internationally acclaimed creator of Birds of America (1827-1838). Nevertheless, he can lay claim in his own right to an important position among travel writers in the tradition of the solitary woodsman-artist: the philosophically stoic man who is reflective in the solitude of the wilderness and an urbane cosmopolite in the salons of Europe and America.

The first outline of John Woodhouse Audubon's personality is drawn from brief references in the letters and journals of the elder Audubon. Evidently a youth of enthusiasm, wit, and good-natured mischief, he matured into a dedicated artist. His was a complex personality-witty and melancholy, confident and shy, sophisticated and rustic. Readers can become directly acquainted with him only through his letters to his family and the...