# @drawingcenter on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BUm13R4hrnO
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/16046932-drawingcenter-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/2fb51ea290.jpg
- **Posted:** 2017-05-27T19:05:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Drawing Center (@drawingcenter) — https://gondola.cc/drawingcenter

## Caption

“And lo, the dream came true. The perfect job is mine. The vague, magnificent idea had given me no hint of the fantastic delight in store for me. Several years ago I began to try my hand at sketching animals from life, at the Tropical Research Station of the New York Zoölogical Society, in British Guiana. Lately this nebulous project has become a real and fascinating job—Staff Artist of the Station; and it combines the best features of work and play. It necessitates travel to some of the most wonderful places in the world, and it has used and developed my artistic tendencies. It has the additional charm of being practically unique. I have had to work out for myself many of the details of my profession. For instance, there's no such thing as a school of snake artists, so when the problem of making a portrait of a snake presented itself I had to think up the technique for myself. There were many odd little worries connected with this problem, such as the invention of the proper anæsthetic for deadly reptiles, to put them out of the misery of posing and yet allow the colors of life to linger from day to day.” – excerpt from “Wild-Animal Painting in the Jungle” by Isabel Cooper. The essay is part of the catalog of “Exploratory Works: Drawings from the Department of Tropical Research Field Expeditions”. Exhibition is on view Wed-Sun 12-6pm | Thurs 12-8pm.
#ExploratoryWorks
Image: Isabel Cooper, “Gem Beetles”, Kartabo, British Guiana, 1922 Watercolor and pencil on paper, 11 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches (29 x 37 cm)

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exploratoryworks

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