Planned to accompany the Wellesley/Deerfield symposium, “The Art of Science in New England, 1700-1920”, this small exhibition mines the recently rediscovered collection of objects and images used in science classrooms at Wellesley College from the time of the school’s founding to the 1940s. Wellesley was at the forefront of science education for women and utilized a variety of drawings, models, and scientific instruments to provide the highest quality education possible. For example, Wellesley’s founder, Henry Fowle Durant, purchased a set of papier-mâché botanical models by the renowned French anatomist, Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux, at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris (currently housed in the Science Center).

Co-curated by Rebecca Bedell, Associate Professor of Art, Martha McNamara, Director of the New England Art and Architecture Program, and Jacqueline Marie Musacchio '89, Professor and Chair of the Art Department, with Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, Senior Curator of Collections, this exhibition is generously supported by Wellesley College Friends of Art, the Science Center Office, and the Office of the Provost and Dean of the College.