Smerinthus saliceti (Salicet Sphinx Moth)

Artist Jo Whaley (American, born 1953)

Date2010 (printed 2025)

MediumPigment print

DimensionsSupport: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)

ClassificationsPhotograph

Credit LineGift of Jo Whaley, 2025

Object number2025.14.5

DescriptionThe basis of the image is an historic tintype portrait of a woman in a dark dress with lacy cuffs and collar, as well as a large, floppy bow at her neck that is secured with a brooch. On her head, in place of an ornate hat, is a dried moth specimen. Moth, woman’s cheeks, and fabric bow are tinted pink. The edges of a metal mat around surrounding the original tintype is visible here as a frame around the portrait.
eMuseum Notes

Emuseum Notes

This later print from Whaley’s series “Theater of Insects” uses an augmented image of a nineteenth-century portrait to comment on human relationships to the animal world. The vision of a woman with an enormous butterfly hat is initially whimsical, a celebration of adornment, but also refers to the period’s fad for collecting insect and animal specimens for amateur study as well as the heavy commercial use of feathers and other animal products as ornamentation for hats and other fashion accoutrements.

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