Resident Artists
We have artists, illustrators, and poets on staff, working at the intersection of art and science.
The fine arts have long had a place in the Field Museum, helping to connect visitors to the natural world and to the ways humans across the world tell their story. From the artistry of the dioramas and miniatures that use sculpture and painting to depict animals in their natural settings, to the early paleoart of Charles M. Knight’s murals, to the fine arts skills of indigenous artisans across time, visual arts can be seen throughout the Field Museum.
Visitors will notice beautiful watercolor paintings by the Field’s own artist-in-residence, Peggy Macnamara. Since 1990, Macnamara’s paintings of birds, mammals, lichens, and insects have adorned the walls of the Field. She has also collaborated with Field Museum scientists and researchers, enhancing their work with her painting skills.
The Field Museum also employs scientific illustrators who use computers, animation, and pen and ink to produce images, such as anthropological and paleontological sites, and newly discovered species of plants or animals. Their work is integral to scientific and anthropological research and to Field Museum exhibits.
Visitors will also find poems on exhibit by the Field Museum’s first poet-in-residence Eric Elshtain. These poems help bring to life the lives and animals, plants, and humans with vivid imagery and language, providing another way for visitors to connect to these aspects of their journey of discovery through the museum.
Artist in Residence
Peggy Macnamara is the Artist in Residence at the Museum, where she illustrates specimens and scenes of the natural world, as well as teaches art classes.
Poet in Residence
Starting in 2017, the Field Museum was one of the first Natural History museums to welcome a poet-in-residence. Eric Elshtain interacts with visitors to help them capture their thoughts and questions.
