Alexander Wilson: An Illustrated Lecture by Robert McCracken Peck

The Oak Spring Garden Foundation is an operating foundation dedicated to sharing the gifts and ideas of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon.  Its mission is to support and inspire fresh thinking and bold action on the history and future of plants, including the art and culture of plants, gardens and landscapes.

Oak Spring Garden Foundation

Join us for an illustrated lecture on Alexander Wilson in our latest installment of the "Treasures of the Oak Spring Garden Library."

Oak Spring Garden Library

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Alexander Wilson (1766-1813), generally accepted as the “father of American Ornithology,” was also an accomplished, self-taught artist. With the passionate nationalism of a new immigrant, the young Scot railed against deferring to the scientific authorities of the Old World in describing the discoveries of the New. He felt the same way about illustration. Not wishing to rely on others, he taught himself to draw and even to engrave the birds of North America, creating the first book on that subject to be published in the United States. Robert McCracken Peck, Senior Fellow and Curator of Art and Artifacts at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, cares for a large collection of original Wilson drawings and copper plates and will discuss Wilson’s major contributions to science as an ornithologist and artist, and place his work in the broader context of 18th and 19th natural history. He will discuss Wilson’s sometimes friendly and sometimes contentious relationship with the other naturalists of his era, including William Bartram, his mentor, and John James Audubon, whose own book on American birds overshadowed, but never eclipsed, Wilson’s landmark American Ornithology. In a rich visual presentation, Mr. Peck will share his insights on this intriguing, productive and colorful, yet somewhat enigmatic figure. A first edition of Wilson’s nine volume work from Mrs. Mellon’s library will be shown, along with Audubon’s landmark double elephant folio, The Birds of America and several other rare ornithological books of the period. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to see the birth of American Ornithology in its original form.Please note: This small group experience is for those interested in learning more about some of the spectacular treasures in Bunny Mellon's library. No previous knowledge is required, just a fascination with art, books, history or the natural world.About The Lecturer:Robert McCracken Peck is Curator of Art and Artifacts and a Senior Fellow at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (to which Wilson was elected a member in 1812), and author of a series of esteemed publications including the B.B.C. book "Land of the Eagle: A Natural History of North America" and "The Natural History of Edward Lear" (Princeton University Press, 2021). He also co-authored "A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences and the Making of American Science" (University of Pennsylvanian Press, 2012). He has written about and organized exhibitions on the life and art of Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and a host of other American artist-naturalists.Event Overview <ul><li>1:00pm - 2:30pm | Illustrated lecture by Robert Peck in the Oak Spring Garden Foundation Library</li><li>2:30pm - 3:00pm | Coffee and Conversation in the Gothic Room of the Mellon Residence</li></ul>

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