Bald Eagle

Audubon painted this eagle with a catfish clutched in its talons -- a detail that caused controversy when the plate was first published in 1827. Ornithologists questioned whether bald eagles actually fished. They do. Audubon had watched them along the Mississippi and painted what he saw.

Plate 31 from The Birds of America shows the adult bald eagle in full mature plumage -- the white head and tail feathers that give the species its name, the heavy yellow beak, and the powerful talons gripping its catch on a rocky outcrop. The landscape composition gives the bird room to fill the frame, every primary feather detailed against the open sky.

This poster reproduces the original elephant folio engraving by Robert Havell Jr., published in London between 1827 and 1838. The double-elephant folio plates measured roughly 39 by 26 inches, and Audubon insisted on depicting every species at life size. Each plate was engraved on copper and hand-colored in Havell's workshop -- a process that gave the prints a luminous depth no purely mechanical process could match.

Available in two paper options. Standard: 200gsm uncoated matte paper with archival-quality inks, clean white stock with a smooth finish. Archival: 250gsm museum-quality matte paper, a heavier stock with a warm offwhite tone that complements the hand-colored character of the original engraving. Both suit framing with or without glass.

Available in 18 x 24 inches (45 x 60 cm) and 24 x 36 inches (60 x 90 cm), fitting standard ready-made frames widely available at craft stores, home goods stores, and IKEA.

Heritage Lab curates these reproductions from original archival scans of the Havell edition engravings, preserving the hand-colored detail of the original aquatint plates. Every feather marking, every scale on the catfish is faithfully reproduced from Audubon's original composition.

The bald eagle was adopted as the national emblem in 1782, forty-five years before Audubon published this plate. By the mid-twentieth century, DDT had reduced the breeding population to just 417 nesting pairs in the lower forty-eight states. Recovery efforts brought the species back to over 300,000 individuals by 2021. This print carries that arc of history with it.

Shipped rolled in a protective triangular tube. We recommend letting the print uncurl on a flat surface for 24 hours before framing.

Size & Paper Details