The Garden Room
The Garden Room is dedicated to the work of prominent Canterbury-born artist Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803 – 1902) and explores our relationship with animals throughout history.
Famed for his paintings of cattle, the museum’s collection of Cooper’s work is of national importance, spanning the length of his artistic career, including his last ever oil painting, left unfinished, at the age of 99.
A range of Cooper’s work is on display for visitors to enjoy, from oil studies to drawings and a selection of his prints.
On display alongside Cooper’s artwork is a large showcase ‘Animals, Art & Us’, containing a diverse range of natural history specimens including native, introduced and migratory species as well as the remains of animals now extinct, that once populated the area.
A selection of objects on display alongside these specimens demonstrate some of the many ways in which animals have influenced the thinking, art and lives of people throughout history.
Animals, Art and UsBrowse:
The Letters of Thomas Sidney Cooper 1837-1890
Information
Family Activities Draw at an artist's easel, enjoy games and a cosy reading corner
Highlights from The Garden Room
Aurochs Skull Fragments
Stone Carving of a Dog Chasing its Tail
Teddy Bear
Hooded Crow
Blue and Yellow Macaw
Red Fox and Rabbit
Rook in the Red Coat
Sheep in the Snow
Separated, but not Divorced
