Ambrose Duval

Ambrose Duval came from France to New Orleans in 1803, and remained there for many years. In an advertisement, he listed his services as a teacher of figures, landscapes, and flowers. Duval also billed himself as a naturalist and exhibited his collection of birds. About 1805, he painted a miniature of Louisiana's first territorial governor, William C. C. Claiborne. In 1821, Duval met John James Audubon, to whom he gave a stuffed plover. Audubon used his friends gift for a painting included in his now famous portfolio of American birds.