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Art | Exhibitions | The Parrot in Art
26 January – 29 April 2007
Main Galleries
The Parrot in Art:
From Dürer to Elizabeth Butterworth
With their flamboyant plumage, playfulness, and powers of speech, parrots have long fascinated man. Ever since Alexander the Great brought one back to Europe from India, they have been the companions of kings, courtiers and commoners. Artists have frequently depicted these beguiling birds over the centuries, portraying them as religious symbols, surrogate people, household pets — or, in natural history illustration, simply as themselves.
This groundbreaking exhibition explores how the parrot’s role in art has changed from the Renaissance to the present and features loans from public and private collections in Britain and abroad, including the Royal Collection, the National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Natural History Museum. Dürer, Reynolds, Goya, Landseer and Quentin Blake are among the artists represented, and the exhibition culminates with a series of works by the greatest living parrot illustrator, Elizabeth Butterworth.
A series of lectures and related events for adults and children complement the display, which is also accompanied by its own fully illustrated catalogue.