The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
Dead Bird
1956
(American, 1925–1972)
Image: 23.8 x 13 cm (9 3/8 x 5 1/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1995.226
Location: Not on view
Description
In 1950, Ralph Eugene Meatyard purchased a camera from his employer, an optical firm in Lexington, Kentucky, in order to photograph his newborn son. From that time until his premature death from cancer, Meatyard declared himself a "dedicated amateur," creating a body of work that reflected his fascination with the camera as both a tool of scientific vision and a means for metaphoric discovery. Meatyard photographed the countryside around his home in central Kentucky, always on the lookout for "The Strange." He was one of the first contemporary photographers to inventively explore psychologically charged subject matter, content, and narrative. He was drawn to mysticism and created images in which odd, disjointed objects are combined to convey a sense of enigma. Dead and preserved birds were a favorite prop. Used here, ensnared within the branches of a tree, the bird contributes to Meatyard’s creation of a macabre, richly symbolic image.- Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 233
- Trophies of the Hunt: Capturing Nature as Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 3, 2004).Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 7/24/04 - 11/3/04. "Trophies of the Hunt: Capturing Nature as Art". No exhibition catalogue.
- {{cite web|title=Dead Bird|url=false|author=Ralph Eugene Meatyard|year=1956|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.226