Warthin Museum

Last evening, Jeanette and I attended the opening of a new exhibition called “The Evolution of the Natural Sciences” in the Warthin Museum of Geology and Natural History on the campus of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

The museum’s collection of fossils, minerals, and curios is laid out in antique glass cases, giving it the steampunk feel of a Victorian cabinet museum. Curator Rick Jones decided to feature a few luminaries from the old days of dinosaur hunting, including Mary Anning, Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and Charles Knight, pictured here.

There are two original paintings from Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time to represent Knight’s influence on the current generation. As Mr. Jones put it, “Charles Knight is the most influential paleoartist that America has produced.” It was an added pleasure that Rhoda Kalt, Knight’s granddaughter, was also in attendance for the opening.

If you happen to be visiting Vassar, don't miss the Francis Lehman Loeb art museum, which, in addition to its strong collection of Hudson River School paintings, is borrowing eight major works (including F. Church's glorious Parthenon) from the Metropolitan Museum during the Met's refurbishment of the American Wing. More about the Loeb art museum, link. The Wartin natural history museum is open Monday through Friday in the month of June, and by appointment (845.437-5540). More on the Warthin Museum, link.