A few weeks ago, nine-year-old Rudy inspired our first-ever calendar for Rex Brasher. We sent an initial mockup to this young activist for his feedback. The final print is coming along nicely and is headed to the print shop on Monday.
It’s the last day of the year today. If you are able to donate $100, we will ship you a calendar in mid-January. Every dollar counts as we continue to make progress on this massive undertaking to preserve Rex Brasher’s life and legacy. Thank you so much for your support!
#Donate
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#BirdsAndTrees
A huge thanks to nine-year-old Rudy for inspiring our first-ever annual calendar. Rudy loves all creatures, kind and gentle. His father Rob was on the search for this year’s holiday gift and asked us “Where can I order the 2026 Rex Brasher calendar?”
Thanks to Rob and Rudy, here it is! We chose twelve of our favorites and worked with a professional design team to create a beautiful keepsake calendar. Donate $100 today for a limited edition, 11x17 large-format print on a luxurious cotton blend.
rexbrasher.org/donate
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#BirdEnthusiasts
REX, the debut solo album by cellist Christopher Hoffman, releases January 16, 2026, on LP, CD, and digital, and is a tribute to one of America’s great bird artists, Rex Brasher (1869–1960).
Scribbles. Sketches. Notes. The smallest of musings may very well lead to some of the greatest work of our lives.
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Over the last few months, we had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with Field Notes, founded in 2007 by Jim Coudal and Aaron Draplin. The talented team of designers at Field Notes has carefully selected and reproduced six of Rex Brasher’s paintings for this quarter’s limited edition.
At the age of eight, Rex decided he would one day paint every bird in North America, from life, in their natural habitat. And he did.
While other notable artists painted birds from taxidermy, Rex’s portraits render these beloved creatures with the vitality and clarity one can only observe in the wild. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Rex Brasher did what many others dare not: he traveled North America on foot and by ship to observe birds in their natural habitats, sending notes and sketches back to New York, ready to begin painting when he returned home.
“Birds and Trees of North America” is Rex Brasher’s seminal work, comprised of 874 watercolor paintings bound in an encyclopedic set of twelve volumes. It is an astounding body of work for one person to set their mind to — and to achieve in a single lifetime. Rex was born with an inherent gift for capturing the beauty of birds in the wild, rendering these creatures in all of their whim and wonder and with exacting detail, just as one might go about describing a close friend.
Rex Brasher relied heavily on his notes in the field. What began as detailed sketches and detailed notes eventually became the definitive “Birds and Trees of North America”. You never know what your notebook may bring.
We couldn’t have imagined a more perfect collaboration. Field Notes is known for integrity, craftsmanship, and thoughtful design, revered the world over by designers, writers, and people who understand the magic of using one’s own hands to write, to draw, to think, to create.
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Get out there and make something.
Rex Brasher lived from 1869 to 1960. His house was on Bog Hollow Road in Wassaic. At the age of eight, he announced a near-impossible goal: to paint every species of bird in North America, without killing and stuffing it. He set out on a very long journey and — despite many, many setbacks — he achieved this near-impossible goal by the time he reached age 55.
Rex Brasher painted over 1,200 species of birds in North America. He created a total of 874 paintings. As if that weren’t enough, he then set out to create the twelve-volume “Birds and Trees of North America”, and then proceeded to create 100 sets of these twelve volumes, by hand, by candlelight.
I am part of a non-profit board called the Rex Brasher Association. Our mission is to protect Rex Brasher’s land and home on Bog Hollow Road and to preserve all of his incredible life’s work. We are in danger of losing both.
Rex Brasher’s work is truly astounding. The first time I laid eyes on it, I was completely taken aback by the sheer magnitude of what he had accomplished. Not many people know Rex’s work or have heard of his name even. We would love for everyone who lives in Wassaic and Amenia to see Rex’s work first hand.
I hope you can join us this Saturday at 2:00 PM at the Wassaic Firehouse. Many people who were born and raised in Wassaic will be joining in this incredible celebration of life, love, and perseverance.
The event is free. Everyone is welcome. We will have fabulous cocktails, farm-to-table food, a beautiful woodland symphony, and a famous cellist.
Looking forward to seeing all of you. Please text me at 917-656-5634 if you have any questions or need help getting to the Wassaic Firehouse. The event is for old people, young people, and everyone in between.
