Event

Exhibit | The Elizabeth Gwillim Collection

Thursday, July 14, 2022 16:00toTuesday, August 30, 2022 18:00
McLennan Library Building main floor, bridge connecting McLennan to Redpath, 3459 rue McTavish, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C9, CA
Purple sunbird and Loten's sunbird. Watercolour on paper. 1901-1807, Madras.
Red Munia. Watercolour on paper. 1901-1807, Madras.
Indian vulture. Watercolour on paper. 1901-1807, Madras.
Western marsh harrier. Watercolour on paper. 1901-1807, Madras.

Elizabeth Gwillim (1763-1807) moved to Madras (now Chennai) in India in 1801 when her husband Sir Henry Gwillim was appointed Puisne Judge to the Madras Court. She grew up in Hereford in England and was passionately interested in natural history. During her brief time in India, she painted over 200 watercolours of birds, as well as flowers and landscapes. She is acknowledged as one of the great bird artists, who, like the better-known John James Audubon, painted her subjects life-size. The Blacker Wood Natural History Collection at McGill is fortunate to have 121 of her remarkable watercolours of birds, acquired by Dr Casey Wood in 1924. Enjoy a selection of digitized sketches on display now in the McLennan-Redpath Complex.

Want to learn more about Elizabeth Gwillim? Visit the dedicated website or McGill's archival collections catalogue.


Exhibition on display on the main floor bridge connecting the McLennan and Redpath Library Buildings. Consult opening hours for access.

Questions? Ask us!  Chat • Email • Text • Call            Send feedback    Report a problem

Back to top