January 27, 2006—April 30, 2006

Marsh Wren The Birds of America, Bien edition, 1860 John James Audubon Chromolithograph

The Maximus Gallery celebrates our origins as the Museum of Comparative Oology as we profile the early years of the Museum and its founder, William Leon Dawson, in a special anniversary exhibition. Dawson was passionate about oology and coined the slogan Omnis ex Ovo, believing the secrets of life's origins could be learned from studying the egg. Historical photographs, as well as Dawson's original journals and field notebooks, bring to life the era of his career in Santa Barbara.

The gallery walls are filled with images of birds and their amazing variety of nests. Almost from the Museum's inception, our antique natural history art collection was established by the donation of lithographs from the Bien edition of John James Audubon's Birds of America. A selection of these prints is on display, along with works by
19th century English ornithologist
and artist, John Gould.