A new exhibition at Rosecliff will explore the changing relationship between Americans and animals during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The exhibition, titled “Wild Imagination: Art and Animals in the Gilded Age,” will feature over 100 objects from the Preservation Society of Newport County’s collections, as well as 15 lending institutions.
With a focus on Newport’s history, The Preservation Society of Newport County says that “Wild Imagination” will bring together a menagerie of animal-inspired artworks and other objects, from paintings, sculptures, photographs and fashions to fancy dog collars and sea creatures blown in glass.
Credit: Lauren Landi
“We’ve always talked about the Gilded Age as a period of transformation, and this is a fascinating variation on that theme,” said Trudy Coxe, CEO and Executive Director of The Preservation Society of Newport County in a statement, which is organizing the exhibition. “It’s a period that saw terrible destruction of wild animals and their habitats but also the beginning of the humane movement and the growing popularity of pets.”
During the Gilded Age, approximately 1870 to 1914, millions of Americans moved from farms to cities, according to The Preservation Society of Newport County. “Popular animal-themed prints, statuettes and other decorative objects satisfied their nostalgia for the lost connections with nature. At the same time, a boom in foreign travel and the growth of zoos and circuses exposed Americans to new, “exotic” species. Interest grew in natural history pursuits like birdwatching. And while the fashion for furs and feathers flourished, activists launched the nation’s first animal-rights organizations”.
Credit: Lauren Landi
All these trends are reflected in the exhibition’s more than 100 objects, which come from the Preservation Society’s collections and from 15 lending institutions.
The exhibition “Wild Imagination: Art and Animals in the Gilded Age” will be open from August 30 through January 12, 2025, and is included with admission to Rosecliff.
Credit: Victoria McKenna-Ratjen
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
