At the age of eight, Rex Brasher set the seemingly impossible goal of painting every species of bird in North America in its natural habitat. By age 50, despite hardships and setbacks, Rex had created 874 watercolor paintings representing over 1,200 species — 3,300 individual male, female, and young birds. Eager to share his work more broadly with the public, he set out to publish his paintings in a twelve-volume tome titled Birds and Trees of North America.

Between 1929 and 1932, Rex produced 100 sets — 1,200 individual books, comprised of nearly 90,000 hand-painted photogravure prints — at his home near Kent, Connecticut. Each painting was accompanied by lyrical descriptions and scientific details of every bird and tree. His project, completed two years ahead of schedule, was an astounding feat of dedication and artistry.

Since 2008, the Rex Brasher Association (RBA) has endeavored to preserve Rex Brasher's legacy, share his work with the broader public, and protect birds and their habitats. We can honor Rex by inspiring a new generation of artists and naturalists to set impossible goals. And achieve them.

The past few years have been both challenging and transformative. In 2019 and 2021, Rex's grandnieces Melode Brasher and Deborah Brasher passed away. As founding members of the RBA, Melode and Deborah entrusted Rex's legacy — including his home, dozens of original paintings, hand-colored prints, rare manuscripts, and 116 acres of mature forest and endangered wetlands — to our care and protection.

We are working diligently to protect this rare habitat for birds and wildlife, build a museum to display Rex's work, and establish a woodland residency so that a new generation of artists and naturalists can discover their own expression of the natural world.

Rex Brasher Association

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Rex Brasher Association

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