Opgezette gestreepte bosuilen 1871 - 1876

William Notman made this photograph of stuffed barred owls in nineteenth-century Canada. Here we see not a slice of the Canadian wilderness, but a carefully arranged studio scene. The owls are posed, lifeless, and presented as specimens for observation. This image speaks to the cultural practice of natural history that was popular at the time. The rise of museums and scientific societies created a demand for visual representations of the natural world. Taxidermy became a way to preserve and study animals, but also to display them as symbols of human dominance over nature. To understand this image better, one might delve into the archives of the Notman studio, and other collections of natural history photography. By examining these resources, we can better understand the cultural values and scientific aspirations of Notman's Canada.