Over the Summer of 1821, a cash-strapped John James Audubon worked as a tutor at Oakley Plantation in Louisiana\'s rural West Feliciana Parish.
That summer, Audubon began what would eventually become his four-volume opus, Birds of Am.
Oakley\'s woods teemed with life, galvanizing Audubon to undertake one of the most extraordinary endeavors in the annals of art: a comprehensive pictorial record of America\'s birds.
This move initiated a profound change in direction for the struggling artist.
Over the Summer of 1821, a cash-strapped John James Audubon worked as a tutor at Oakley Plantation in Louisiana\'s rural West Feliciana Parish