Modern contemporary taxidermy

Modern Contemporary Taxidermy

Modern contemporary taxidermy art has become ultra chic and is often the resource of high class interior designers.

Modern taxidermists and artists are making beautiful pieces in the style of the old, with the life of the new.

The good antiques are few and far between now, but modern taxidermists and artists are making super-collectible beautiful pieces that are not only valid heirs of these antiques, but that have been produced using very finely-tuned craftsmanship.

Many lessons have been learnt since the days of mercury and arsenic and some of these modern creations are simply in a class of their own.

At the higher end of making taxidermy and collecting it as art, no animals are specifically killed to display. True artists source their stock from from zoos or captivity or conservation programmes where they are certified to have died of natural causes. Truly informed collectors of quality pieces are also as equally discerning.

Darwin Sinke van Tongeren scarlet ibis in dome

Darwin Sinke van Tongeren Ibis in a glass dome

modern taxidermy tableaux in the style of artist Hondecoeter

Darwin Sinke van Tongeren A tableaux reminiscent of Hondecoeter

Tony Armitstead: A Tableaux of Badgers (from the Dean Field collection)

Tony Armitstead: A European Polecat (from the Dean Field collection)

Carl Church – recreation of a Dodo. copyright Carl Church

Tony Armistead: European Eagle Owls. Copyright: Tony Armitstead.

Carl Church and Tony Armitstead

Modern Contemporary Taxidermy

Modern taxidermists and naturalists like the UK’s Carl Church and Tony Armistead are leading the movement to shake off the old image and they are creating contemporary and relevant pieces that are much sought after by buyers in various markets, including the education scene.

At the same time, there is still demand and appreciation for the old school style of taxidermy by the likes of Henry Murray and Peter Spicer. Tony Armitstead also recreates these styles in his work and the prices for his creations are buoyant.

Carl Church is a sculptor and educator, recreating pieces such as the Dodo for educational purposes like the one that Carl did for the Kendal Museum in Cumbria, and his taxidermy work commands high prices at auction.

Modern Taxidermists making art

Darwin, Sinke & Van Tonginen book on taxidermy art.

Established in 2013, Darwin, Sinke & van Tongeren are modern taxidermy artists dedicated to showing the beauty of nature in a baroque extravagant way

Van Tongeren and Sinke are ex advertising creatives from Ogilvy & Mather in Amsterdam. They established a new career in taxidermic art, a subject that had long fascinated them.

They launched their first collection ‘La Vie de L’Eden’ at the end of 2014. Subsequently Damien Hirst bought the entire first exhibition. Since then their 17th century-inspired work has been sold worldwide to museums, collectors, investors and also many artists and creatives around the world.