Exhibition On Zallinger Murals To Open At Peabody Museum

NEW HAVEN — This year marks the 60th anniversary of the world’s most famous dinosaur painting, the 110-foot long “The Age of Reptiles,” and the 40th anniversary of its less famous but equally important companion, “The Age of Mammals.”

On Wednesday evening, April 25, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, home to the murals, will  kick off a year of celebration related to these two icons of art first brought to attention nationally and beyond 54 years ago when they were featured on covers of Life magazine.

The exhibition, “Dinosaurs, Mammals & Forests Primeval: Celebrating the Great Zallinger Murals at Yale,” will open to the public the next day, on Thursday, April 26. On view through December 31, it will feature memorabilia related to the murals and artist Rudolph F. Zallinger and tells the story behind their creation.

For his work on “The Age of Reptiles,” which he began as a student at the Yale School of Fine Arts, Mr Zallinger won the 1949 Pulitzer Award for Painting (not the Pulitzer Prize), the original of which is displayed in the exhibition. The appearance of the murals on the Life covers and in the popular tabletop book The World We Live In (all featured in the exhibit) sparked a renaissance of public interest in dinosaurs and paleontology.

Also on view will be some of the first dinosaur toys and various other products reproducing the vivid images of ancient animals. On display as well will be preliminary drawings and paintings, archival memorabilia, and photographs of Mr Zallinger at work in various stages of progress.

“The Age of Reptiles” documents 300 million years of Earth history, from the Devonian Period 362 million years ago to Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago. “The Age of Mammals” chronicles Earth history from shortly after the extinction of the giant dinosaurs to the great beasts of the Ice Ages. Painted in the rare Renaissance fresco secco technique, their scenes of dinosaurs, mammals and primeval forests have inspired generations of children, scientists, artists, and a host of others around the globe.

A series of talks, workshops, a children’s art contest, and other special events will follow throughout the year.

Featured in May are the first two such programs, both free and open to the public.

The first program, on Thursday, May 3, at 5 pm, will be “The Lost World of the Great Zallinger Mural: 60 Years with ‘The Age of Reptiles.’” The lecture will be delivered by Yale Professor Jacques Gauthier, curator of vertebrate paleontology, and Yale Professor Leo Hickey, curator of paleobotany. Admission is free.

Then on Thursday, May 17, also at 5 pm, Armand Morgan, senior museum educator, will lecture on “Where Art Meets Science: The Zallinger Murals.”

A gala is planned for Saturday, November 10.

The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History is at 170 Whitney Avenue. Regular museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 to 5 pm, and Sunday noon to 5. All programs and exhibits are free with admission unless otherwise noted.

Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors (age 65-plus), and $5 for children ages 3-18 and students with ID. Admission is free for everyone on Thursdays after 2 pm.

The museum is wheelchair accessible. For additional information call 203-432-5050 or visit Peabody.Yale.edu.