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Painting of Concord River
Summer on Concord River by Barry Van Dusen

Museum of American Bird Art

The Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon (MABA) is a professional art museum and home to Mass Audubon's extensive art collection. 

While the gallery is currently closed, MABA is developing a new vision for sharing and featuring world-class bird art. Past exhibitions featured art by internationally recognized artists whose work is inspired by nature.

Cameron Prairie © Anne S. Faust (serigraph, 1993). Mass Audubon Collection.
Cameron Prairie © Anne S. Faust

Art Collection

Mass Audubon’s bird art collection spans four centuries and many genres thanks to generous gifts and bequests as well as purchases. 

Explore

Featured Stories

  • pop art rending of bald eagle head
    "Animals in Make-up, Bald Eagle" ©Andy Warhol

    A Peek Inside the Mass Audubon Vault: Andy Warhol’s “Animals in Make-up”

    Mass Audubon was lucky enough to acquire two pieces directly from Andy Warhol in 1983, and they remain fascinating pieces in our expanding collection of art today.

  • Page of a sketchbook depicting studies of bald eagles and ducks

    3 Original Sketchbooks by Barry Van Dusen, 2015-2017. Gift of the Artist, 2024. 

    © Barry Van Dusen

    Museum of American Bird Art's New Acquisitions

    In 2024, Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) proudly expanded its collection with four notable works of art, all through the generosity of donors who support our efforts to curate a meaningful and relevant collection and educate audiences about the wonder of birds through art. 

  • Painting of a snowy owl with scattered paint around the bottom of the frame

    Ewoud de Groot, Snowy Owl, oil on linen, 2021. Museum purchase from the Art Acquisition and Restoration Fund through a gift from David D. Croll, 2022.

    © Ewoud de Groot

    Recent Gifts of Art

    We are thrilled to report the recent gift from the Judy and Tony King Foundation of 125 photographic prints by King from among his extensive opus of bird photography.

  • Frost on meadows off Ball’s Hill by William Brewster
    Frost on meadows off Ball’s Hill, November 1897, by William Brewster

    MABA Receives Grant to Digitize Historic Photos

    MABA has received a special grant from the Nuttall Ornithological Club (NOC) to digitize a collection of photographic images taken in the late 1880’s through early 1990’s by William Brewster, who served as Mass Audubon’s first president from 1896 through 1913.

  • Wednesday Bucco_Golden-tailed Sapphire1920.png
    Wednesday Bucco, Hummingbirds

    MassArt Students Create Artwork Inspired by Museum of American Bird Art Collection

    Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) is excited to announce a recent collaboration with the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Mass Art).  

  • Painting of Concord River
    Summer on Concord River by Barry Van Dusen

    Past Exhibitions

    Past exhibitions at the Museum of American Bird Art have explored artworks by a wide range of artists.

  • hands looking through old photos

    Unlocking the Past: Preserving the Stories Behind William Brewster’s Glass Plates

    At the Museum of American Bird Art, efforts are underway to preserve and digitize a remarkable collection of glass plate negatives by ornithologist William Brewster.

Martin Johnson Heade, Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds, 1871, oil on wood, Gift of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, 1982.73.1, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Martin Johnson Heade, Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds, 1871, oil on wood, Gift of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, 1982.73.1, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Lecture Series

Watch past recordings from MABA's Art of Birds lecture series.

Camper painting ceramics on a pottery wheel

Art Programs

MABA Education Center in Canton offers art-inspired educational programs for people of all ages.

Charley Harper, Mystery of the Missing Migrants, acrylic, 1992; Mass Audubon Collection, museum purchase, 1992.
Charley Harper, Mystery of the Missing Migrants, acrylic, 1992; Mass Audubon Collection, museum purchase, 1992.

Support MABA

Help make the new vision for sharing and featuring world-class bird art possible.

Latest News

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Page of a sketchbook depicting studies of bald eagles and ducks

3 Original Sketchbooks by Barry Van Dusen, 2015-2017. Gift of the Artist, 2024. 

© Barry Van Dusen
News January 17, 2025

Museum of American Bird Art's New Acquisitions

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Gyrfalcon --Iceland (1966) by Robert Verity Clem

Gyrfalcon --Iceland (1966) by Robert Verity Clem

News October 07, 2024

A New Chapter for the Museum of American Bird Art

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Painting of white birds with orange feet and beaks flying in front of clouds
Faust Cameron Prairie
News September 09, 2024

The Art of Birds: Fall Online Lecture Series

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