Sea Creatures in Glass (Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka )

Elizabeth R. Brill, Sea Creatures Preservation Specialist David O. Brown, Photographer and Filmmaker Gonzalo Giribet, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University James Hanken, Professor of Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Curator in Herpetology, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, and Director, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Many years before they were commissioned by Harvard University to make the famed Glass Flowers, father and son artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka meticulously shaped glass into lifelike models of marine and terrestrial animals. Renowned for their beauty and exacting detail, the Blaschka invertebrate models were commissioned by universities and museums throughout the world during the nineteenth century. In celebration of the publication of Sea Creatures in Glass: The Blaschka Marine Animals at Harvard, this program will highlight the history, artistry, conservation, and relevance of Harvard’s collection of 430 invertebrate models to marine science today.