Bathysphaera Intacta circling the Bathyspere, Else Bostelmann, Bermuda, 1934. Watercolor on paper, 18,5" x 24,5". Courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society Archives. Photo by Martin Parsekian.

NEW YORK, NY.- The Drawing Center presents Exploratory Works: Drawings from the Department of Tropical Research Field Expeditions, an exhibition examining the images produced by the Department of Tropical Research (DTR) during their pioneering ecological expeditions to South America and the Caribbean in the first half of the 20th century. Sixty historical drawings produced by a variety of artists in collaboration with the DTR’s scientists are being exhibited for the first time, alongside two new major installations by artist Mark Dion, which recreate with great detail the DTR’s field labs for both their jungle and aquatic missions. Co-organized by Dion; historian and anthropologist Katherine McLeod; and Madeleine Thompson, institutional archivist at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, Exploratory Works highlights a seminal moment when art advanced our understanding of science, and in turn science trusted the intuition of the artist to show us something as-of-yet unimaginable. 

Saber-toothed Viper Fish (Chauliodus Sloanei) chasing Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) Larva, Else Bostelmann, Bermuda,1934. Watercolor on paper, 18,5" x 24,5". Courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society Archives. Photo by Martin Parsekian.

The Ground-Breaking Work of the Department of Tropical Research 

Led by biologist Charles William Beebe (1877–1962) of the New York Zoological Society (now the Wildlife Conservation Society), the DTR focused their studies around what today would be described as tropical rainforest and marine ecology. Throughout their expeditions, Beebe and his team of scientists worked side by side with artists to illustrate the ecosystems they researched. At a time when photographic technologies were limited, the artists of the DTR used their pens and brushes to construct visualizations of natural environments that were difficult or impossible to access. The DTR's innovative use of drawings, sketches, paintings, cartoons, animations, and films helped make the idea of an interconnected ecosystem part of popular and scientific thought. 

Under Beebe’s guidance, the DTR also instituted the revolutionary practice of hiring women as lead scientists and field artists. Through this professional platform, the DTR enabled the careers of, among others, scientists Jocelyn Crane and Gloria Hollister, and artists Else Bostelmann, Helen Tee-Van, and Isabel Cooper. 

Chiasmodon niger Stomach Contents, Else Bostelmann, Bermuda 1931. Watercolor on paper. 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm). Else Bostelmann © Wildlife Conservation Society. 

Bug Family on Acalypha Leaf, George Swanson Caripito, Venezuela, 1942 11” x 14.” Watercolor on paper. Courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society. Photo by Martin Parsekian.

Long-spined Giant Squid, Helen Damrosch Tee-Van, Bermuda, June 4, 1929. Watercolor on paper, 11” x 14”. Credit Wildlife Conservation Society Archive. Photo by Martin Parsekian.

Margay Tigrina Vigens Head, Isabel Cooper, Kartabo, Guyana, March 19, 1922. Watercolor on paper, 11 x 14 inches. Courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society.

Tinamou, Helen Damrosch Tee-Van, 1923 or earlier, Guyana. 11” x 14” Watercolor on paper. Courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society. Photo by Martin Parsekian.

Isabel Cooper wrote in The Atlantic Monthly in 1924 about the particular challenge posed by drawing live snakes. Credit Wildlife Conservation Society Archive.

George Allen Swanson technically portrayed a praying mantis, then also showed it doing ballet below. Credit Wildlife Conservation Society Archive.

Recreating the Labs of the DTR 
As part of Exploratory Works, co-organizer and artist Mark Dion constructed two installations that bring to life the interiors of the DTR’s field stations. While one of the installations develops the space of the jungle laboratories, the other looks to the oceanographic workshops. Using numerous archival images that depict the interior conditions of these labs, Dion’s installations capture the material culture of science at the time and emphasize the extraordinary situation of artists and scientists working together. Dion also produced a display cabinet with glass-covered pull out drawers, shelving, and vitrines to exhibit the rich archival material of the DTR. These reconstructions build on the foundation of installation art Dion has practiced in museums, galleries, and public institutions worldwide, as well as his keen knowledge of the history of field biology for the period and its related material culture. 

William Beebe writing underwater during a dive in Haiti in 1927. Credit Wildlife Conservation Society Archives

William Beebe, left, with scientists and artists of the Department of Tropical Research during a expedition to Venezuela in the 1940s. Credit Wildlife Conservation Society Archives