Orchard Oriole

Painted in 1830 by Joseph Bartholomew Kidd, Orchard Oriole was created specifically for the naturalist John James Audubon. The work remained within the Audubon family for nearly a century, passing by descent to Audubon's great-grandson, Leonard Benjamin Audubon, who resided in Sydney, Australia. Family correspondence indicates that the paintings were likely sent to Australia around 1899 or 1900 following the death of Caroline Hall Audubon, though some accounts suggest they arrived earlier with William Bakewell Audubon in the 1880s.

Leonard Benjamin Audubon retained the piece until 1950, when it was sold to E.J.L. Hallstrom of Sydney. The following year, Hallstrom gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the permanent collection.

The painting Orchard Oriole is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its provenance traces back to John James Audubon, for whom it was originally painted. The work remained within the Audubon family, passing to Audubon's great-grandson, Leonard Benjamin Audubon, in Sydney, Australia. In 1950, the piece was sold to E.J.L. Hallstrom, also of Sydney, who subsequently gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1951.

While specific exhibition records are not detailed in the available sources, the transfer of the artwork from Australia to the United States followed the death of Caroline Hall Audubon in 1899, after which several family paintings were shipped overseas.

Created in 1831, "Orchard Oriole" is a canvas work by American painter Joseph Bartholomew Kidd. Executed in pencil and oil, the piece measures a modest size and presents a single bird as its focal point, rendered with a quiet naturalism typical of early nineteenth‑century American genre painting.