Ornithological Quadrupeds features prints from Beauvais Lyons, University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Professor of Art.
The mini-exhibition, which is a companion display to Between the Hand and Sky: The Art of Elizabeth Gould, draws on the tradition of natural history illustration by artists including Elizabeth Gould and John James Audubon.
Lyons’ Ornithological Quadrupeds portfolio, created by the fictional “Association of Creative Zoology,” features fantastical and whimsical creations inspired by nature and born from Lyons’ imagination. He considers his work to be an academic parody, playing on the hierarchies of authority and power that influenced nineteenth century natural history illustrations.
The prints in this series, were produced with support from the University of Tennessee Graduate School’s Student/Faculty Research Award, and with the help of one of Lyons’ former graduate students, Jen Scheuer. Scheuer is now an Assistant Professor of Art at Purdue University. The entire portfolio, recently acquired by the McClung Museum, is on display at the museum for the first time.
Curated by Sadie Counts, McClung Museum Exhibitions and Curatorial Graduate Assistant