The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art presents Spectacular Achievements: Audubon’s Animals of North America Jan. 27 - March 23 in its Lower Level Galleries.

Opening events will be held Thursday beginning with a lecture at 5:30 p.m. by Thomas F. Jones, Executive Director, Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas, and a reception following from 6:30 - 8 p.m.

Spectacular Achievements includes 70 original hand-colored lithographs from John James Audubon’s magnum opus, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, published between 1845 and 1848 by John T. Bowen of Philadelphia. These lithographs are considered the finest images of North American animals ever made.

In the late 1830s, as the details were being finalized for the completion of his monumental Birds of America project, Audubon began to collect material for an equally impressive study of North American animals.

The Quadrupeds proved more difficult than he had anticipated, as many native animals were nocturnal and their habits were hard to learn. He was greatly aided by his two sons, John Woodhouse and Victor, and by his good friend Dr. John Bachman, a Lutheran minister in Charleston, South Carolina.

The first specimens he collected were preserved in barrels of rum and shipped to him at his home in New York. He would later make the journey up the Missouri River to personally document the little-known wildlife of the frontier.

Like his Birds of America, the Quadrupeds are wonderfully animated, expertly executed, and beautifully printed in large (22” x 28”) format.

According to experts, only 300 complete sets of 150 images were sold by subscription, making the works very rare.

Spectacular Achievements is a unique opportunity to view Audubon’s lithographic works and to appreciate his skills as an artist, observer, and interpreter of nature. The exhibit includes many glamorous animals including the ocelot, jaguar, lynx, male cougar, female cougar, grizzly bear, beaver, black wolf, red Texan wolf, wolverine, Virginia opossum, northern hare, cross fox, collared peccary, horned antelope, and Columbian black-tailed deer. As masterpieces of art and science that are entirely American, this exhibit is guaranteed to have wide audience appeal.

“John James Audubon (1785 - 1851) is the textbook example of the quintessential adventurer-artist who followed in the footsteps of George Catlin and Karl Bodmer on a trek across the American wilderness to pursue his passion to document the birds and mammals of a country teeming with species never before documented in the world of science,” writes Thomas F. Jones. “For Audubon, this quest was a true labor of love‚ that would last until his eyesight began to fail late in life. His legacy lives on in his life’s work and profound influence he had on future generations of scientists and artists. Today there is a preservation society named after him, and his highly coveted works are on the walls of museums and in rare book libraries and universities all over the world. Even though Audubon’s works were greatly appreciated in his lifetime, their value has continued to escalate at an unprecedented rate because of their rarity and unsurpassed artistic quality.”

The exhibition and opening events are generously sponsored by Jefferson Medical, Mississippi Power, and UBS.

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel.

The galleries are open from 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 - 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. For more information call 601-649-6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.