Heron Encircled by a Snake Notecard

A favorite drawing within the Morgan’s collections, this notecard is sure to become a favorite of any recipient! Long attributed to the artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), this study and other like it in the British Museum, London and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, are now thought to be the work of her youngest daughter, Dorothea Maria Gsell (1678-1743)

The inscription on the recto and verso explains that the “worm-eating bird is names Coximoyanex by the Indians” and that the “snake encircling him is called a rat-catcher”.

This notecard was produced from the Morgan’s collections to accompany the exhibition Walton Ford: Birds and Beasts of the Studio on view at the Morgan Library & Museum April 12, 2024 through October 20, 2024.