[This article is adapted from a lecture presented by Dr. Jennifer S. Tafe at the Concord Free Public Library on April 29, 2025, on MABA’s temporary loan to the library of Andy Warhol’s Bald Eagle in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.]

Bald Eagle by Andy Warhol, silkscreen, 1983. Mass Audubon Collection; gift of the Artist, 1983. © Warhol Foundation.

Nature has been a wellspring of artistic creativity and cultural expression for centuries. This article explores the enduring relationship between art and nature, and the ways in which this intersection has been manifested and celebrated throughout art history and within the collection of Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art (MABA).

Since the earliest known artworks were created, artists have looked to their craft to help interpret the human relationship to the natural world. Birds, other wildlife, and the habitats in which they live have served as subjects for art, literature, mythology, legend, and symbolism across cultures, time, and geography. The manner in which nature subjects have been used in art has changed over time, especially as our scientific understanding has evolved, and as the fragility of nature and our planet has become more apparent.