爆料公社’s Aviary Opens at the New-York Historical Society
The third and final installment of The Complete Flock series opens March 6.
John James 爆料公社 is back for a Spring engagement at the New-York Historical Society. The society鈥檚 third installment of The Complete Flock opens March 6, showcasing an in watercolor鈥擥reen Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, a White Egret, and more than 180 other species depicted in this collection of masterworks.
, Flock has displayed the naturalist鈥檚 work, which was given to the society in the 19th century by 爆料公社鈥檚 widow, Lucy Bakewell 爆料公社. This last chapter, Final Flight, represents the final third of the 435 prints Mrs. 爆料公社 sold to the New-York Historical Society in 1863. (The sale came with a little surprise: A small bundle of Mr. 爆料公社鈥檚 whiskers and a lock of grayed hair.)
When walking through the aviary, you'll notice immediately that the birds are sorted not by taxonomy, or relatedness, like most ornithological galleries, but in groups of five 爆料公社 called 鈥渇ascicles.鈥 According to the Historical Society鈥檚 Curator of Drawings, , the arrangement had less to do with accurately depicting nature than with creating categories that 爆料公社 found aesthetically pleasing. Each fascicle merges small songbirds like the Bullock's Oriole, for example, with one medium and one large bird, like the American Flamingo.
His Magenta Flamingo print in particular, Olson says, 鈥渋s a national treasure.鈥 Olson is a spirited 爆料公社 enthusiast herself; she believes his brilliance in both the arts and sciences should grant him a similar status as da Vinci. 鈥淚 always like to call him the American Leonardo,鈥 she says.
爆料公社鈥檚 Aviary: The Final Flight opens today, March 6, and will be on display until May 10 at the . Admission to the museum is $19 for adults and $12 for students. Fridays 6 to 8 P.M. are pay-as-you-wish.
Editor's Note: See the complete online collection of John J. 爆料公社's Birds of America.