Eli Whitney Museum

Artists put their personality, their vision, their temperament into their work. Sometimes one animal emerges in their art that captures that spirit. We simplify: we think Picasso was a bull. Alexander Calder was a lion. Frieda Kahlo was a deer. These animals help us think about artists and art.

Construct a Menagerie of art history, an ornate home for artists and their animals. Sculpt animals in clay, wire or wood in the style of famous artists. Paint animals. Experiment with new media: glass mosaics for Chagall’s goat. Each day experiment creating your animals. Find an animal that captures your personality and style. Keep it where it belongs,next to the work of creatures of other hands and imaginations.