Once so abundant in the U.S. that their flocks sounded like thunder as they darkened the sky, passenger pigeons were hunted to extinction by the early 20th century. The final survivor, Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo over one hundred years ago, but inspired New York-based British realist painter Clive Smith’s painting of a commemorative plate, now on view at Marc Straus Gallery on the Lower East Side. Titled ‘Beak, Claw, Hand, Brush,’ this and other works in Smith’s series equate the labor of beak and hand, soberly suggesting that our own future may go the way of the passenger pigeon. (On view through Feb 9th).
