Iridescence: John Gould’s Hummingbirds
May 27, 2017 - August 27, 2017
This collection of avian artworks by John Gould includes 80 antique prints from c. 1861. This J Gould exhibition will highlight a recent acquisition and give visitors an in-depth look at a single artist prominent in the wildlife art field. The collection includes all 20 hummingbirds known to exist in North America at that time, plus 60 other hummingbirds from around the world.
About John Gould (From 2017 “Call of the Wild”)
By the age of 23 John Gould was the curator and preserver of the Zoological Society of London. Less than four years later he published his first book about birds. Over his sixty-year career, Gould produced approximately three thousand plates of birds. More an ornithologist and an expert in taxidermy than a fine artist, Gould worked with artists including his wife Elizabeth Gould, Edward Lear, Joseph Wolf, and William Matthew Hart to produce the images that appeared in his books. It was work by Gould—identifying many of the specimens that Charles Darwin brought back to England with him from the Galapagos Islands as unique species—that was a cornerstone in Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Soundscape Experience within the Exhibition:
Thomas Rex Beverly is a field recordist who created the soundscape currently playing in Iridescence: John Gould’s Hummingbirds. The soundscape is titled: “Iridescence: A Day in the Life of a Hummingbird,” and is a delightful 15 minute composition of sounds including: hummingbirds flying, a thunderstorm, wind, and crickets chirping.
Listen to the full soundscape below:
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Impact and Entanglement: Three Video Works by Christina Seely
Through January 3, 2027For almost two decades, Christina Seely has worked alongside scientists in the Arctic and tropics, creating immersive moving-image and sound installations that explore the changing relationships between wildlife, humans, and the planet.
See the Exhibit
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Birds in Art
Through April 25, 2027“Birds in Art” is an annual exhibition organized by The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, each year since 1976. The exhibit typically features new works by contemporary artists. However, this special 50th anniversary edition of “Birds in Art” also includes a selection of highlights from past years.
See the Exhibit