On the 100th anniversary of John James Audubon's death, a fifth-grader in Des Moines, Iowa, discovered his calling in life.  DeVere Burt was only 10 at the time, but he knew instinctively that "I had found what I was going to do."  On that day in 1951, he was introduced to an art book that contained pictures of Audubon's famed "Birds of America."  These were no "stiff wooden figures," DeVere says. Each represented fowl looked as if it might suddenly take flight from the page.  The creatures stirred his imagination, and made his hands itch to draw them. He already was a young artist who loved the outdoors and spent many a contented hour "with muddy feet" dangling under the kitchen table of his grandfather's farm as he put pencil to paper.  He was, he explains, particularly motivated on those visits to the rural setting.

The son of a car salesman and homemaker went on to major in wildlife biology and animal ecology at Iowa State University.  Those studies, combined with his interest in Audubon and his natural gift for depicting birds and mammals on canvas, ultimately led to an exhibit that opened this weekend at Audubon Museum here.

Called "Audubon's River," the 35 paintings by DeVere and three by fellow artist Mary Louise Holt were inspired by the life and times of Audubon as he lived and worked on the Ohio River, from 1807-1820. Nine of those years, from 1810-1819, were spent in Henderson where he experienced both great success and catastrophic failure.
This project began in 2002 and still is expanding. DeVere -- whose unusual first name has been in his family four generations -- says he's currently working on additions for the exhibit, and that it ultimately is likely to have 50 paintings.  When the display which debuted this year was being shown in Cincinnati, where DeVere and his wife Pat reside, it was attended by 150,000 people.

His years have taken some fascinating twists and turns that rival Audubon's own.  Consider that when he was an Iowa State graduate student, he became a biological illustrator whose work took him as far afield as Cairo, Egypt.  He later was a field biologist for the U.S. Antarctic Research Program studying the breeding biology of the Adelie penguins.

DeVere has participated in three journeys to find rare birds, two of them successful. One of those was the location of the world's only population of the Panay Stripped Tree Babbler in the Philippines, and the other was an expedition to the Choctowatchee River in Florida where a small population of Ivory Billed Woodpeckers was found.
For years he was president and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, where, in the facility's earlier incarnation, Audubon was its first salaried employee.
In 1996, DeVere did what many would consider unthinkable. After getting the blessings of his teacher spouse, he left the museum position that paid well and had great benefits.  He did it because time was passing far too quickly and he yearned to paint nature.  "I didn't want to be 80 and sitting on the front porch wondering if I could have done it," he says. Pat understood and told him to go for it. Fortunately, their two sons, Chris and Doug, were grown and the couple could afford to embark on this adventure.  It's obvious that it was the right choice, because DeVere is in his element, explaining each painting and its Audubon/historical context.

The tall, white-bearded man is a walking history book, spouting names and dates and relating them to what was going on in America at the time.  Kim McGrew, the museum's art administrator, helped hang the exhibition and notes that it's been an educational experience for her. "DeVere is full of knowledge," but never comes across as a showoff.  When an early visitor to the exhibit marveled at his fertile imagination, he chuckled and said, "Oh, I'm nuts. Completely certifiable."  His paintings, and those of Holt -- another Cincinnati artist -- not only are visual feasts but also a reminder that wildlife is threatened in this changing world and we've already lost a number of species.  Gone, for example, are the passenger pigeons that once were so abundant. The last one known to exist died in 1914.

The first painting in the exhibit is titled "Winds of Change" and shows a simple cabin on the banks of the Ohio. Perched on a log are white pelicans that were a common sight in Audubon's time.  Now the birds' habitat is the marshes of the West.  Bison were plentiful along the Ohio in yesteryear, but that scenario changed even during Audubon's lifetime, and the bamboo that the animals ate is mostly gone too.

One of the paintings is clearly set in Henderson, and shows Audubon's "infernal mill" in what is now known as Audubon Mill Park. The four-story entity that bankrupted him (and burned in 1913) led to his departure from the community and is shown under dark and threatening clouds, with an angry-appearing eagle surveying the scene.
From here, the exhibit will move to Florida.

"Audubon's River" will be succeeded by a second series of paintings that reflect Audubon's expeditions.  It's evident that another artist is incubating in the Burt family.
Six-year-old granddaughter Sophia watched DeVere painting an owl in a nighttime scene and advised him that the picture needed a big, full moon.  It has that moon, and Sophia can say, "I told you so."
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"Audubon's River" may be seen daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the museum's lower level. The exhibit continues through September.