The Magician

Installation Information

Sloan's recent interest is in early natural history art from the era now referred to as the Age of Discovery. From Maria Sibylla Merian in the 17th century to James Audobon in the 19th century, many artists painstakingly and accurately illustrated the newly discovered natural world, giving their audience a scientific and aesthetic understanding of these new, rare and exotic discoveries. Concurrent with the Age of Discovery was the idea of a Cabinet of Curiosities. In these rooms were housed a personal collection of things of wonder – many coming from the newly discovered natural world but also containing rare and extraordinary man-made objects.