The exhibition was a visual delight of nearly 100 objects of animal life folk art, including bears, moose, elk, deer, squirrels, snakes, turtles, fish, frogs, and a wide variety of birds. These highly inventive and playful works reflected their makers’ desire to capture the animals’ individual characteristics. Various materials were used in crafting these pieces; many were based in wood but infused with imaginative details fashioned out of metal, seashells, beads, and leather. Others were created entirely out of materials such as deer antlers, canvas, pieces of discarded oil drums, and even bottle caps. The objects, many of which were found in camps throughout Maine, dated from the late 19th to the late 20th centuries. While a number of the pieces were created for home and outdoor decoration, others were utilitarian objects, aiding hunters or fisherman in attracting their prey or acting as rooftop weathervanes.

Wild Things reflected the personal collection of Kate Manko, a dealer and collector of American folk art in Moody, Maine, who had assembled the wildlife objects over a twenty-year period.  

Watch the video that served as the introduction to the exhibition (2:45) >