In Memoriam: Murrell Butler, 1937-2021

In addition to the many humans who will surely miss Murrell Butler’s presence on this earth, the talented painter and naturalist will no doubt be sorely missed by countless birds.

Much of his gentle life was spent not only documenting them in exquisitely-detailed paintings, but also in feeding and caring for them on his 350-acre property in Saint Francisville, which was largely curated with his feathered muses in mind. “It’s a beautiful place,” said Murrell’s cousin Anne Butler. “It’s like an oasis that he built in the middle of a cow pasture, and it’s got wonderful plantings all around it, and outdoor aviary fountains, and wonderful patios and places to sit.” Murrell’s little slice of West Feliciana Parish was an ideal place for bird walks, Anne explained, because of the varied habitat it made between the sandy beaches of Bayou Sara, a large spring-fed lake, plus thick stands of the upland hardwood forest that blankets this part of the Tunica Hills.

[Read James Fox-Smith's piece on Murrell Butler's life and work from February 2020 here.]

Between the lush environment and Murrell’s attentive feeding, Murrell cultivated a massive population of migratory as well as resident birds. If a human visitor was fortunate enough to go on a bird walk with Murrell, they experienced an intimate glimpse into nature. “People loved to go on bird walks with him, because he was just so calm and casual, you know, but just knew everything, and where to see all the nests, and he fed billions of birds,” Anne explained, noting that Murrell not only filled bird feeders, but regularly scattered corn by the lakes. “I’ve been down there when he would have two hundred Canadian geese come in to spend the night. And then they’d all go off to wherever they lived, but they would always come to his lake to spend the night.”

To the people who knew him, he is remembered fondly as an “old-school gentleman,” humble, polite, generous, and kind. While he curated his own bird sanctuary at home, during the course of his life he also found joy in traveling to locales like Spain, Africa, South and Central America, as well as elsewhere within the United States on birding trips with colleagues who shared his passion.

Murrell’s deep love of nature and gentleness toward animals goes back to his childhood. While he was born into a family of hunters, he was more influenced by his grandmother, a horticulturist who operated a plant nursery during the Depression; and his mother, who was an artist and fashion illustrator. “They were surrounding him with fine art and wonderful books and paintings and everything, and so he was a little different from the hunters,” Anne said. “He just had such an appreciation for everything in nature.”

“Every plant and every habitat and every feather, it was all just perfect. You know, and he really spent a lot of time studying and walking in the woods, and was just was so knowledgeable about everything in the natural world,” Anne said. “He loved everything about it.”

And yes, she means everything: when Murrell was a child, he had a pet buzzard who would follow him out to catch the school bus every morning. When he was in his eighties, Murrell built buzzard nesting boxes for them to roost. “So, nothing escaped his attention. The only thing he didn’t like was cats,” Anne recalled with a chuckle. “He didn’t like cats around his house, because they would kill the birds.”

While Audubon, as prolific as he was––and as profoundly as Murrell respected him––had an assistant paint his backgrounds, Murrell always painted every detail himself. “Every plant and every habitat and every feather, it was all just perfect. You know, and he really spent a lot of time studying and walking in the woods, and was just was so knowledgeable about everything in the natural world,” Anne said. “He loved everything about it.”

This profound love of nature has culminated in Murrell bequeathing his estate—the bird-dotted 350-acre property, and the two-story log house filled with art old and new by himself and other artists—to the National Audubon Society, with the intent that it will someday become a museum and birding study center for migratory and resident birds.

During the course of his life, Murrell also donated to countless environmental, birding, and animal welfare organizations, and left funding to the West Feliciana Animal Humane Society upon his passing. Those wishing to honor his legacy may donate to the West Feliciana Animal Humane Society, The National Audubon Society, or another nonprofit dedicated to preserving the natural world Murrell so loved and devoted his life to.