Professional Taxidermy Examples & Shops
Sometimes the best information is contained in pictures. These links have been selected because they capture a unique aspect of the art of taxidermy, or simply because the work produced is of such high quality that it deserves mention. These links are only the beginning. There are many more taxidermy studios out there. Check out Taxidermy.net's list of studios by state for more links.
- Animal Art Taxidermy
- This site contains a wide variety of traditional mounts of gameheads, birds, fish, exotic animals, and water scenes.
- Berkshire Taxidermy
- Chet Farmer produces finely crafted traditional mounts (including housepets) in Massachusetts.
- Van Hoesen Taxidermy
- World champion taxidermist Jan Van Hoesen creates beautiful mounts of small mammals in atypical poses such as running, sleeping, and playing.
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- Aquatic Trophies
- Aquatic Trophies produces high-quality fiberglass reproductions of salt- and fresh-water fishes. Of particular interest are the miniature fish mounts.
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- Artistic Compositions - Waterfowl Taxidermy by Shane Smith
- 1998 national champion Shane Smith creates elegantly beautiful waterfowl mounts, in a variety of poses. Surprisingly, the mounts known as "dead mounts," where the birds are preserved as if they have just been killed, are the most beautiful. An exceptional attention to detail marks Smith's work.
- Avian Design
- Master Taxidermist Stefan Savides specializes in bird mounts, and his site describes his work as "dimensional still lifes of unmatched beauty." His birds are remarkably lifelike and his mounting props carefully crafted.
- Artistic Compositions - Waterfowl Taxidermy by Shane Smith
- 1998 national champion Shane Smith creates elegantly beautiful waterfowl mounts, in a variety of poses. Surprisingly, the mounts known as "dead mounts," where the birds are preserved as if they have just been killed, are the most beautiful. An exceptional attention to detail marks Smith's work.
- Frank Newmyer
- Frank Newmyer is an eight-time world champion taxidermist and it is often claimed that he invented the genre of artistic habitat waterfowl mounts. His works include realistic habitat settings, even going so far as to combine underwater and above-water scenes. (Be warned, this site is very graphics-intensive and takes a while to load.) Also check out Taxidermy.net's special gallery on Frank Newmyer's work
- Masters of the Sky Taxidermy
- J. Kevin Brocato of Shreveport Louisiana specializes in bird mounts. His site displays a unique underwater scene of two diving birds.
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- Barnsley's Barn
- Located in Australia, Barnsley's Barn has a wide variety of exotic mounts, including elephants and crocodiles. They also specialize in the use robotics in their mounts, making movable fins, jaws, and eyes. They have even mounted cameras in the eyes of mounts. The crocodiles used in the film Crocodile Dundee were created by Barnsley's Barn.
- Elephant Head Taxidermy, Inc.
- Elephant Head Taxidermy specializes in African mounts, including such exotic animals as impalas, zebras, and hippos.
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- Finnish Museum of Natural History
- This site provides excellent examples of taxidermy mounts used in a museum setting. Also of interest are the step-by-step photographs of the creation of a taxidermy mount.
- Musée d'histoire naturelle Fribourg
- The site of the Fribourg Natural History Museum is entirely in French, but is still a valuable resource to English-speakers due to its pictures. These pictures show the step-by-step producation of a python mount. These pictures are highly graphic and NOT for the squeamish.
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- A Case of Curiosities
- "Where art flirts with science." The work of T.S. Resleure is fantastical in nature, inspired by 18th and 19th century fairy tales and the wunderkammer curiosity cabinets of the 16th through 19th centuries. These works often incorporate non-traditional "novelty" poses, accesories and mounting props. Resleure has done taxidermy mounts based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Resleure's work goes beyond the traditional novelties of jackelopes and sitting frogs. Expect the unexpected.
- Avesovum
- Taxidermy is not limited to animal reproductions alone. England's Avesovum specializes in beautiful reproductions of bird eggs.
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