Audubon gives the Baltimore oriole — named for the golden-and-black livery of the Calvert family, colonial proprietors of Maryland — a full domestic scene: a mated pair and a fledgling worked around the species' extraordinary hanging nest, a deep woven pouch lashed to a tulip-tree branch entirely from plant fiber, the male's contribution limited to gathering material while the female does the actual weaving. Audubon painted the tulip tree's distinctive flowers and leaves with the same care he gave the birds, following his consistent practice of setting each species within its real habitat rather than against a blank studio ground. What to notice: the nest itself, more than the birds, is the plate's real subject — few North American birds build anything as structurally ambitious, and Audubon clearly knew it was the more remarkable achievement.

Maker: John James Audubon (engraved by Robert Havell Jr.)
Date: 1828
Medium of the original: Engraving
Original held by: Wikimedia Commons
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Rights: Public domain, verified
Catalogue number: PA-00278

As chosen: 8 x 12 in, art print, classic frame
Picture	8 x 12 in
Outside size	9.6 x 13.6 in
Depth	0.9 in (22 mm)
Weight	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]]
Hanging	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]]
Material	Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing
Made in	Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes offered
Size	dpi	Grade	How it fits
8 x 12 in	183	Good	Trimmed 3.6%

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
8 x 10 in	Wrong shape: a 14% crop
11 x 14 in	Wrong shape: a 12% crop
12 x 16 in	126 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
12 x 18 in	122 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
16 x 20 in	Wrong shape: a 14% crop
16 x 24 in	91 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
18 x 24 in	84 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
20 x 30 in	73 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
24 x 30 in	Wrong shape: a 14% crop
24 x 36 in	61 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
30 x 40 in	50 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
36 x 48 in	42 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
40 x 60 in	36 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged

Scanned: 2026-10-07
Master file: 1,522 x 2,200 px, srgb
Tone: Darks 64, lights 249 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
Colour: 0% vivid
Sharpness: 10.4