March 15 – November 15, 2016
Maryhill Museum of Art’s painting collection contains more than 250 works, most created during the 19th and 20th centuries in America and Europe. Included among these are a number of works with animals as subjects. During the 19th century, it was common for European and American artists to include domesticated livestock in their pastoral landscapes; some artists specialized in painting specific animals, others created domestic exteriors with barnyard animals or indoor genre scenes that included cats, dogs and other species. As modern life has distanced us from animals, they have disappeared from daily view and likewise have become largely invisible in the world of art. Animal Kingdom looks back to a not-so-distant past when human interaction with animals was common. The exhibition features a wide range of animal-centric works, including pastoral paintings and equestrian scenes, along with exotic birds, sheep and man’s best friend, the domesticated canine. Among the artists included are Jakob Bogdani, François Pieter ter Meulen, George Bernier, George Wright and Edwin James Douglas.
Image: Jakob Bogdani (British [b. Hungary], 1660–1724), The Thieving Monkey, c. 1710, oil on canvas, 30” x 26”; Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art