Museum presents art, science of taxidermy
How close have you ever stood to a rhinoceros? What about a lion? Or a Great Horned Owl? If you’re a visitor to Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, then you’ve had an opportunity to stand within inches of these animals and many more as preserved in their collection through the art of taxidermy.
“Taxidermy allows you to see a close up of these animals,’ said Stephen Rogers, collections manager. “You can look on television and see a rhino but you can’t see how big he is.’
Visitors who might take this art form for granted will have their eyes opened at a new exhibit called “Stuffed Animals: The Art and Science of Taxidermy,’ which is running through Sept. 3.
“It traces the evolution of taxidermy from its infancy to how it’s done nowadays,’ explained Rogers, “and how the museum’s taxidermists played an important role in how taxidermy improved in the United States.’
Located on the first floor, the exhibit is small but filled with intriguing information and is a good launching point for visitors to discover the other taxidermy exhibits in the Carnegie collection.
“We’re trying to draw people to see other parts of the museum,’ Rogers said.
Throughout the building, Rogers estimated, there are between 350 and 400 birds, 150 mammals and 100 amphibians and reptiles preserved in taxidermy that are on display.
They include a black rhinoceros donated to the museum by Teddy Roosevelt, which is exhibited in the Hall of African Wildlife. The hall also includes the endangered Giant Sable; fewer than five are on display in the United States.
The museum’s most famous taxidermy exhibit is “Arab Courier Attacked by Lions,’ purchased from the American Museum of Natural History in November 1899 for $25. The exhibit features two Barbary lions attacking an Arab seated on a camel. It won a gold medal at the 1867 Paris Exposition.
Bird Hall includes two rare displays: The extinct dodo, acquired in 1918, is a replica but one of the few on exhibit anywhere in the world. There also is a pair of ivory-billed woodpeckers once thought to be extinct but recently discovered in Arkansas.
While the Egyptians preserved animals through mummification, pure taxidermy did not start until the 1700s in Europe, primarily in France, Germany and Italy, Rogers explained. The English also developed their skills and the art form eventually came to the United States.
“In the 1880s, America became the leader and it’s been that way ever since,’ said Rogers.
Rogers spoke about Charles Wilson Peale, who created the Peale Museum in Philadelphia – the first successful natural history museum in the United States.
“He improved taxidermy quite a bit,’ said Rogers.
With taxidermy, America’s interest in natural history began to grow, eventually catching the attention of Andrew Carnegie, founder of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum.
A press release from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History explained: “In 1878, while traveling the world, Carnegie met taxidermist William T. Hornaday in Singapore. Carnegie contracted Hornaday to prepare a tiger skin as a rug. They met several more times and it was during one of these meetings Hornaday suggested that Carnegie give a museum to Western University (present-day University of Pittsburgh). It was reported that Carnegie took ‘kindly to the idea and says he never thought of giving them a collection of natural history.’
“When the museum opened to the public in 1896, it was essentially empty because exhibits could not be constructed in such a short period of time. To fill the museum, Henry Ward, proprietor of Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in Rochester, N.Y., offered to loan the museum, at his own expense, a collection of various objects for the opening. The museum purchased several of these items and then added about a thousand other specimens purchased from Frederick Webster, who became the first taxidermist on staff at the museum.’
The Carnegie staff became known for its skill in taxidermy. Rogers spoke of brothers Joseph and Remi Santens, who were extremely talented at doing large animal displays.
Rogers said, “We had a big-game hunter named Childs Frick who went on an expedition to Africa in 1909 – rhinos, cape buffalo and warthogs. He brought them back as skinned out salted hides and loose bones and handed them to Joseph and Remi. They had to figure out how to take these dried-up hides and long bones and create animals.’
The brothers visited zoos to study animals. They would take measurements of the bones, build up a clay sculpture and then a hollow sculpture, the latter to which they would attach the hides, which were skinned as thin as possible.
“There was a tremendous amount of artistry involved,’ said Rogers.
The results were very lifelike creations. Visitors can compare for themselves through “Stuffed Animals,’ which includes a rhino from the Carnegie with one that was prepared by a taxidermist in England. The English exhibit doesn’t have the detail of its American counterpart.
The exhibits have sought to educate. Years ago, animals such as rhinos were unknown to Europeans and Americans. Today, people can see them in zoos and on film. But taxidermy allows the public to see the animals up close – in a way most never would be able to see them.
Rogers pointed to a part of the exhibition that shows boxes of animals placed in their natural environments, such as birds in a nest – a practice that started 100 years ago. The boxes are loaned out to schools for study.
And Rogers also noted that taxidermists have been among the first conservationists, a facet pointed out by the exhibition.
“They are more aware of how the environment have been overused than a ordinary person,’ said Rogers. “A taxidermist, even today, can tell the quantity of deer being shot.’
Rogers said taxidermists knew when hunters were over-utilizing African animals, killing rhinos to chop off their feet to use as ashtrays and elephants for their tusks. They saw when buffalo were being hunted for their hides or tongues.
“Taxidermists said we have to do something about this,’ said Rogers.
Local residents who have had trophies mounted from hunting and fishing may particularly want to see “Stuffed Animals.’
Rogers said that many people have trophies mounted because “it’s a way to relive your adventure.’
In fact, these prized pieces are often passed down through generations.
Rogers said, “I have a bear rug that my grandfather shot in 1939.’
But everyone who visits the exhibition will achieve a greater appreciation for taxidermy.
Said Rogers, “There’s art and science involved. Taxidermy is a fine art.’
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is located in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section. Parking is available directly behind the museum. For more information, phone 412-622-3131 or visit www.carnegiemnh.org
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