Birds, Bugs and Blooms: Observing the Natural World in the 18th Century

"Birds, Bugs and Blooms: Observing the Natural World in the 18th Century" examines how the study of nature shifted from pure science to an aesthetic form between 1590 and 1818. Featuring more than 70 objects in a wide range of illustration, the majority of which will focus on the 18th century, the exhibition will explore how interest in natural history on both sides of the Atlantic grew during the period.

The exhibition is arranged in three sections. The first section focuses on collecting, patronage and production and reveals how naturalists not only worked in the fields to collect specimens but also had to obtain patrons in order to have their work published. It highlights how these gentlemen on both sides of the Atlantic exchanged specimens and ideas and sponsored the avid collecting and documenting of their subjects. The second part of the exhibition illustrates how the shift in study moved from science to art. Featured here are examples of how some collections of specimens found themselves in museums alongside art and other historical objects, as well as examples of the proliferation of botanicals as a stand-alone art form. The final section discusses how gardens, carefully planned and laid out, furthered studies both privately and publically and advanced the domestication of birds. While the vast majority of the works on display are from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's collections, several of the books that will be included belong to the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Library.