Maria Martin

Maria Martin Bachman (3 July 1796 – 27 December 1863) of Charleston, South Carolina, USA, was a watercolor painter and scientific illustrator. She contributed many of the background paintings for John James Audubon's The Birds of America (1831–39) and Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–48). 2Biography Maria Martin was born in 1796 to Rebecca Solars and Jacob Martin. As an adult, she lived in Charleston, South Carolina with her ailing sister Harriet Martin Bachman, her brother-in-law Reverend John Bachman, and their 14 children. Martin managed the household and helped educate the children. She married John Bachman in 1849 after her sister's death. Reverend Bachman was a Lutheran pastor and naturalist. Martin went with him on field excursions, including one trip to Niagara Falls, and learned how to make scientific descriptions and drawings of plants and animals. In the 1830s Audubon was a guest at the Bachman household during a trip to study bird species in the South. During his stay, Audubon encouraged Maria in her drawing and tutored her in natural illustratio