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Caligo Martia (Butterflies)

1878
Titian Ramsay Peale II (American, 1799–1885)

Titian Ramsay Peale studied and collected butterflies throughout his life. His far-flung travels yielded preserved specimens as well as live butterflies that he later bred. Both scientific and artistic in its delicate and intricate details, this small painting is labeled on the reverse: "CALIGO MARTIA. / A rare Butterfly from Porto Alegre, rio grande, Brazil. / Painted from Nature for Miss Catherine Bohlen / By Titian R. Peale. March 1878."

The American Museum of Natural History in New York owns Peale’s unpublished four-volume manuscript, "Butterflies of North America: Whence They Come, Where They Go, and What They Do," and his extensive butterfly collection belongs to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.


Object Details

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