Inside the MFAH Posts tagged #animals

“Inside the MFAH” provides perspectives, conversations, and opinions from insiders at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Lions, Tigers, and . . . Llamas? Exploring the Ancient American Cosmos December 5, 2014
The idea for the exhibition Fangs, Feathers, and Fins: Sacred Creatures in Ancient American Art began when I subscribed to International Wildlife as a teenager. Instead of boy-band posters on my bedroom wall, I had pages torn from this magazine. That’s what drew me to Pre-Columbian studies, to examine the cultures that existed in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. For …
Diving into “Watson and the Shark” November 14, 2013
One of the centerpieces of American Adversaries: West and Copley in a Transatlantic World is Watson and the Shark, the sensational painting that earned artist John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) election to the Royal Academy of Art in London.Just a few insights into this monumental work:Watson led quite a life, including a stint as the “peg-legged mayor of London.”This painting depicts a …