Sydney Environment Institute

The lavish natural history monographs of the 19th century can be counted amongst the most ravishing books ever published. In this public lecture to launch the Macleay’s celebration of taxidermy Stuffed Stitched & Studied, John Kean will trace the relationship between biological specimens and images drawn to represent the living animal.

John Kean is curator of ‘The Art & Science: Remarkable natural history illustration’ currently at Melbourne Museum

Exhibition: Stuffed, Stitched and Studied: 19th century taxidermy

The exhibition explores the relationship between taxidermy and the science of taxonomy in the 19th Century. Taxidermy is the process of making a life-like sculpture of an animal from its own skin. To make an elephant one needs a wooden frame, a fish needs gentle stuffing, a kangaroo needs stuffing and wire too; for a caterpillar a small glass tube, a candle and cotton is required.