Lecture, Amy Montague & Sally Sapienza, Isaac Sprague and the Art of Discovery

Isaac Sprague and the Art of Discovery

Isaac Sprague (1811-1895), a native of Hingham, was artist/assistant to John James Audubon and later became the foremost American botanical illustrator of his day. In 1843 Sprague accompanied Audubon on his trip West to observe and draw animals and plants for the Quadrupeds of North America. After returning to Massachusetts, Sprague worked for two decades for the famed botanist Asa Gray at Harvard,  introducing American plants to the world through his illustrations for Gray’s ground-breaking books. He also introduced exotic flora to Americans by illustrating specimens collected by botanists on numerous expeditions, including Commodore Perry’s to Japan and Charles Wilkes’s to the South Seas.

Amy Montague and Sally Sapienza are co-curators of the exhibition, Isaac Sprague and the Art of Discovery, presented at the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center in Canton, January 31 through May 2, 2010 which includes Sprague’s 1843 journal and a group of watercolors on loan from the Boston Athenæum.

Amy Montague is the director of the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center, a professional art museum within New England’s oldest conservation organization. She has curated more than 20 exhibitions exploring the intersection of art and nature, focusing on artists as varied as John James Audubon and Andy Warhol. She first became interested in the art of Isaac Sprague thirty years ago, when she was a member of the staff of the Boston Athenæum.

Sally Sapienza is an independent curator whose career in museums has included education and interpretation, collection management, and exhibition development and research. She is a former employee of the Longfellow National Historic Site, the Concord Museum, The Boston Children’s Museum, and the Vaughn Cottage Museum on Star Island.

To Reserve: This event is open to the public and there is no fee. Reservations are required but will not be accepted until April 7, 2010. Please call the Athenæum’s events reservation line, 617-720-7600.