Exhibit offers animals and humans in art

From Aesop's fable, "The Hare and the Tortoise," to Charlie Brown's Snoopy, animals and humans have been bonding, communicating and mirroring one another in art and literature for centuries..

Now the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan has made this the theme of a new exhibition.

"We take for granted the animal perspective in literature and art. They are symbols of the human condition and have been our moral teachers," said William M. Griswold, director of the Morgan Library and Museum of the 80-piece exhibition, which opened Thursday.

Called "In the Company of Animals: Art, Literature, and Music" the exhibit displays painter Jackson Pollock's abstract ram -- hailed as a totemic image of the American Southwest. Pollock was known for incorporating animals into his work.

"When describing the connection between his work and nature, Pollock famously commented, 'I am nature,' " a small sign next to the painting says.

There is also John Steinbeck's draft on yellow tablet paper of his book, "Travels with Charley," a story about him and his French poodle who become traveling companions as they go cross country in a truck that becomes their home. Steinbeck wrote: "Dogs are curious extensions of ourselves."

Charlie Brown's pet beagle becomes a writer at his typewriter in an original comic strip. Cartoonist Charles Schulz wrote: 'I have always thought there were a lot of dogs that were smarter than their young masters. So I decided to let Snoopy 'think.' "

"Animals become characters," said Clara Drummond, assistant curator of literary and historical manuscripts. "Animals support us in our solitary lives."

"In the company of animals, even if they are our pets, we look into their eyes and we feel a connection. We can imagine what they would be saying if they could speak. We even imagine what they are thinking," said Drummond, who assembled the exhibition.

The artwork ranges from a Mesopotamian stone seal of a one-eyed Cyclops dated 3100 BC to an 1896 autographed letter from the English author Beatrix Potter who tells another animal story to an 8-year old boy in her own handwriting -- all relating to the intimacy between animal and human, Drummond said.

The collection, unearthed from the museum's vaults, includes Rembrandt's black chalk on paper stretch drawing of Hanksken, the elephant brought from Ceylon to Amsterdam in 1637.

"Look at the detail that shows the texture of the elephant's skin. It's a remarkable rendering of an exotic creature of that time," Drummond said.

The exhibition also offers special events, including several films, a lecture by writer Susan Orlean on "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend," and a children's book making workshop at which artist and educator Stephanie Krause will teach youngsters how to bind and decorate their own animal-shaped journals. The program runs through May 20.