Now through May 14, view “Birds of the Northeast: Gulls to Great Auks” at Fairfield University Art Museum. The exhibition includes paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, and natural history specimens from the early 19th century through the present day.
Beyond merely connecting us to the natural world, these artworks remind us of the toll taken on bird habitats since the beginning of European colonialism in North America; the delicate ecosystems that allow birds of all species to thrive came under attack, as birds were hunted for food and ornamentation and their habitats were destroyed.
“Birds of the Northeast: Gulls to Great Auks” complements the installation on Fairfield’s campus of The Lost Bird Project by artist Todd McGrain (on view through August, 2021). These monumental sculptures, created as public memorials to North American birds driven to extinction in modern times, present a chronicle of humankind’s impact on our changing world and a moving record of dwindling biodiversity.
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