Last Chance to see Nature's Masterpiece: Photographs of Peter Beard
The Museum’s current special exhibit, Nature’s Masterpiece: Elephant Photographs of Peter Beard, closes this Saturday, Nov. 4. Don’t miss your chance to experience this powerful display of the famed photographer’s iconic elephant images on loan from the collection of David and Susan Rockefeller. These gelatin silver prints highlight some of Beard’s close encounters with these powerful creatures, while simultaneously eulogizing their passing.
Beard was a ground-breaking Long Island-based naturalist, photographer, and artist. From his first visit to Africa at age 17, he devoted much of his life to recording—and paying tribute to—the creatures he encountered there, receiving the greatest attention for his images of African elephants. Beard’s work was featured in many solo exhibitions, including at the International Center of Photography in Manhattan, and the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris.
He died in 2020, leaving behind an artistic and personal legacy defined, as several publications at the time noted, by the word “wild.” In a statement on Beard’s website, his family wrote, “Peter was an extraordinary man who led an exceptional life. He lived life to the fullest; he squeezed every drop out of every day. He was relentless in his passion for nature, unvarnished and unsentimental but utterly authentic always.”
Sculpture created by Northeast Harbor artist Dan Falt is featured alongside Beard’s photos.
The Gilley is open Tuesday through Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 4 this week from 10am to 4pm each day. Admission is $10 per person or free for Museum Members.
