Of Birds and Texas

As John James Audubon's Birds of America was the most magnificent ornithological publication of the nineteenth century, Of Birds and Texas may rightfully claim that honour for the twentieth. Originally published in a twenty-three-by-twenty-nine-and-a-half-inch elephant folio limited edition in 1986, this collection of forty exquisitely detailed bird portraits and ten Texas landscapes, with accompanying commentary by the artists Scott Gentling and Stuart Gentling and a personal essay by Texas's most respected writer, John Graves, won widespread acclaim. A. C. Greene praised it as "the most stunning and prodigious book in Texas history (and possibly forever)," while the Dallas Morning News deemed it "the most magnificent book ever produced in Texas." This edition is intended to bring Of Birds and Texas to a wider audience. Maintaining the high standards of design and production that characterised the limited edition, it amplifies the original publication by including nearly thirty additional bird paintings or remarques, which the Gentling brothers produced for subscribers who helped underwrite the first printing. It also contains a new essay by Stuart Gentling, "Of Birds and Texas, Audubon and Us," in which he describes not only how the brothers' deep admiration for John James Audubon led to the creation of this book, but also how their serendipitous discovery of a long-lost Audubon painting saved the project when a lack of funds threatened to end it. Twin brothers Stuart Gentling and Scott Gentling, of Fort Worth, Texas, are professional artists, authors, and lecturers.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments Of Birds and Texas, Audubon and Us Self-Portrait, with Birds by John Graves Dedication to the Folio Edition Foreword to the Folio Edition by Harry Tennison Introduction to the Folio Edition Plates The Land 1 Sanctuary 2 Limestone Ledge 3 Deer Stand 4 Lost and Found 5 Red Oak 6 Wild Turkeys 7 Snow Geese 8 Winter Grass 9 Harvest 10 Updraft The Birds 11 Turkey Vulture 12 Northern Cardinal 13 Cattle Egret 14 Merlin 15 American Oystercatcher 16 Wild Turkey 17 Purple Gallinule 18 Burrowing Owl 19 American Woodcock 20 Acorn Woodpecker 21 Roseate Spoonbill 22 House Wren 23 Sharp-shinned Hawk 24 Snow Goose 25 Scaled Quail 26 Black-crowned Night-Heron 27 Barn Swallow 28 Red-shouldered Hawk 29 Red-billed Pigeon 30 Bufflehead 31 Mourning Dove 32 Flammulated Owl 33 Great-tailed Grackle 34 Pyrrhuloxia 35 Eastern Towhee 36 Purple Martin 37 Crested Caracara 38 Northern Mockingbird 39 Northern Bobwhite 40 Six Migrating Warbler Species 41 Canvasback 42 Magnificent Hummingbird 43 Greater Roadrunner 44 Cliff Swallow 45 Chuck-will's-widow 46 Zone-tailed Hawk 47 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 48 Altamira Oriole 49 Ring-necked Pheasant 50 Surf Scoter Remarques Bibliography

About the Author :
Twin brothers Stuart Gentling and Scott Gentling, of Fort Worth, Texas, are professional artists, authors, and lecturers.