Darwin200
The Wellcome Trust brings Darwin into the 21st century

The art of Darwin

Ideas around evolution have inspired artists for the last 200 years - explore some of the exhibitions and artworks influenced by Darwin and commissioned by the Wellcome Trust below.

Originals A series of Darwin-inspired art films broadcast on television in February 2009. Run by Artsadmin, the project featured artists including Ackroyd and Harvey, Bobby Baker and Lemn Sissay.

Endless Forms This exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, open from 16 June to 4 October 2009, explored Darwin's interest in the visual arts alongside some of the artistic responses to his ideas in the later 19th century. It featured works by Turner, Degas, Monet and Cézanne.

Evolving Words This series of creative writing workshops, held in six cities across the UK, encouraged people aged 14 to 25 to write poetry inspired by Darwin. Participants worked with established poets and science educators to produce poetry to read, perform, film and share online. Evolving Words evaluation report [PDF 816KB]

In the Eye of the Beholder: The art of evolution Inspired by Darwin's iconic description of the development of the eye, Franziska Schenk created new artworks featuring iridescent eyespots of butterfly wings.

The Forgotten Evolutionist Artist Fred Langford Edwards worked with Dr George Beccaloni of the Natural History Museum to research and explore the contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace to the theories of natural selection and evolution.