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Mass Audubon's Art Collection / Masters of American Bird Art
From the founding of Mass Audubon in 1896, the organization has been inextricably linked with art. Named for John James Audubon, the legendary painter of American birds, Mass Audubon quite naturally was the recipient of generous gifts and bequests of artworks. The core of the collection was, at first, engravings and chromolithographs by Audubon himself. However, over time the collection expanded to include works in a variety of mediums by some of the most renowned bird artists of Europe and America.
Bird conservation was the focus of Mass Audubon's founders, Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall. Moved to action by the slaughter of birds for women's fashion, they enlisted other well-connected Bostonians in their cause. Now, more than a century since Mass Audubon's founding, its mission still embraces bird conservation, but in a broader context—including a statewide system of wildlife sanctuaries, extensive education programs, and advocacy efforts on the local, state and federal levels.
Although Mass Audubon's mission has broadened over the years, its art collection remains steadfastly focused on birds, with artworks by many of the major bird artists of the past two centuries, including:
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John James Audubon
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Elmer Crowell
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Allen James King
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Larry Barth
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Louis Agassiz Fuertes
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Robert Morse
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Frank Weston Benson
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Charley Harper
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Andy Warhol
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Robert Verity Clem
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Lars Johnson
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Alexander Wilson
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In 1999, the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center opened its doors, a professional art museum with a mission to connect people and nature through art. Located on a 138-acre wildlife sanctuary just south of Boston, the center shares Mass Audubon's collection with the public through exhibitions as well as education programs for children and adults alike.
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