Birds of a Feather

Nestled in the residential foothills by the mission, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s woodland campus has bridged the 5,270-mile gap between here and Northumberland, England, the birthplace of etcher and ornithologist Prideaux John Selby, with its newest exhibit, Selby’s Circles.

The exhibit, focused almost exclusively on Selby, is the first of its kind. Selby has long been cast in a supporting role in the decorated careers of other prominent artists, such as his colleague, French-American artist John James Audubon and prominent printmaker Thomas Bewick. For the first time, Selby’s etchings are coming to center stage. The Museum of Natural History has Selby’s Circles on display through January 4, 2027, in the John and Peggy Maximus Gallery, with a curated selection of approximately 20 of his 222 bird etchings, featuring 383 species.

Selby’s project began in 1819, whereby he set out his audacious task to depict all of the species of birds of Britain at life size, native and migrant alike. His goal was to capture a bird’s character with his distinct medium and detailed approach to illustrating texture and movement. Selby’s project ran concurrent to the age of “Romanticism,” a landmark era in world history known for great innovation and an emphasis on the vitality of the natural world. Selby’s work directly aligned with this period.

The exhibit was born after the museum received a sizable donation of Selby’s etchings last year, and Curator Dr. Sarah Monks saw an opportunity to create a first-of-its-kind exhibit of his work.

“He really is part of the history of ornithology. So, he’s important scientifically, but hasn’t really been understood and addressed as an artist,” said Monks, as she walked me around the exhibit earlier this week.

During her research and conceptualization of the exhibit, Monks came across an interesting paradigmatic overlap in Selby’s social practice and bird philosophy. 

Within the social sector, Selby established the world’s first field naturalist club of the time, where he organized group observations in the fields open to everyone. There is evidence that working-class people joined this club and became naturalists enriched in the natural world as a result.

Selby viewed birds as an example of quinarianism, a 19th-century zoological classification method that thought all organisms could fit into five categories. Selby adapted this into his own theory that all birds could be grouped into five “quin-” circles: perching birds, birds of prey, ground birds, swimming birds, and wading birds. These circles were thought to touch, revealing similarities between seemingly unrelated creatures.

“Selby’s work is not just about the accurate depiction of these birds. It’s also about giving them life. Bringing them alive, giving them character, animation, and a sense of the kind of truth to them as living beings,” said Monk.

In the first three weeks of the exhibit, Monk described the positive reactions she has gauged from visitors. All in all, there has been a resounding sentiment around the collective surprise from audiences of how beautiful and interesting these prints are from an artist they may not have heard of before.

“It’s opened people’s minds to something new. One of the things we always try to do in the museum is encourage people to come in, to find things, and then to go back out into the world and look with fresh eyes at the natural world around them,” said Monk. “This is exactly what we’re about.”

Selby’s Circles is on display now through January 4, 2027, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (2559 Puesta Del Sol). The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and reservations can be made online here or in person.