Menagerie: Animals in Art from... | Exhibitions

Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum

Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College

Clinton | New York | USA

Sep 07, 2024 - Jun 08, 2025

From the ancient world through to the present day, Menagerie explores how humans have utilized animal iconography across all areas of cultural production and encourages a thoughtful and conscious understanding of the presence of animals in our everyday lives. The exhibition presents a large survey of artworks and artifacts drawn from the Wellin鈥檚 collection that feature representations of real and imagined creatures, from across eras and cultures. It includes works that engage with animal imagery for symbolic, cultural, ceremonial, and religious purposes; as decorative motifs; and to comment鈥攐ften satirically鈥攗pon human relations and events. The exhibition also takes a holistic and environmental approach to animals and encourages visitors to examine the multitude of ways in which wild and domesticated creatures impact our lives, and vice versa. Moreover, the exhibition draws attention to the scope of the Wellin鈥檚 collection. Selections include objects from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; Mesoamerican and Andean artifacts; sculptures from Medieval, Renaissance, and nineteenth-century Europe; prints, drawings, and textiles from East Asia; Persian illuminated manuscripts; and global modern and contemporary art.