Back in 1879, the Wellesley College Calendar proudly declared that “a large and costly collection of models of plants which was prepared for, and exhibited at, the French Exposition, in 1878, by Auzoux, of Paris, has been lately imported for the College and added to the Botanical Department.” This papier-mâché iris is one of those models, still in use after 135 years—although temporarily relocated to the Davis Museum as part of the exhibit The Art of Science, up until June 22. The show features objects and images used in science classrooms at Wellesley from the time of the school’s founding to the 1940s. Kristina Jones, director of the botanic gardens, says the College was rightly proud of its models. “We have the best collection, I think, in the world. It’s just amazing,” she says.
Instructive Art
photo: Richard Howard
photo: Richard Howard
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