Flights of Fancy: The Art of American Avifauna

Flights of Fancy: The Art of American Avifauna is a collection of bird-based parlor groups from the Florida Museum of Natural History. Dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these groups were most likely created by Charles “Chas” E. Doe, whose large personal collection formed the core of the museum’s early ornithological holdings. Parlor groups were so named because they were created for decorative purposes, often placed in the parlors of Victorian homes, and had limited scientific value.

The exhibit features these groups alongside reproductions of prints from John James Audubon’s Birds of America (1830) as well as photographs of the Doe Collection. Parlor groups shared many of the aesthetics of 19th century ornithological illustration, combining realistic depictions of birds with sometimes fantastical groupings and poses. These objects reflect the American fascination with birds that was simultaneously artistic and scientific.

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