Support from The Michael Marks Charitable Trust helps to widen access to the ZSL art collection

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is delighted to welcome Ann Datta who joins us as a part-time Art Cataloguer, responsible for cataloguing the estimated 6,000 artworks held in ZSL’s Library and offices at Regent's Park and Whipsnade.

The post of Art Cataloguer has been funded by The Michael Marks Charitable Trust, an organisation which supports the arts, through a donation of £30,000 over two years. This project will make the collection more easily available to the public, creating a searchable online catalogue as well as providing an audit of paintings which may be in need of conservation work. ZSL also hopes to host exhibitions of this fascinating artwork in the future.

Ann brings with her a wealth of experience having worked for 42 years cataloguing the zoological paintings and drawings of the Natural History Museum, managing the Zoology Library in London and the Rothschild and Ornithology Libraries at Tring. During this time Ann was responsible for the acquisition of original material and the conservation of the more important collections, as well as promoting the collection within the organisation and to a wide audience beyond. She joined the team at ZSL on 7th November and has already designed the online catalogue.

The ZSL Library houses many varied artworks including works by renowned artists including Joseph Wolf and Edward Lear. It is crucial to have these works correctly catalogued and stored as they are of both historical and scientific interest; some exist as an early record of a species long before the use of photography.

Ann Datta said:

'I am delighted to have been appointed ZSL Art Cataloguer. It is a great privilege to be chosen to work in this world-renowned library and to have the opportunity to create a catalogue of these beautiful and important animal paintings. I believe that working as a member of the library team, we will produce a visually stimulating online catalogue of the artwork that will complement the Society's web pages and increase accessibility to the Library's collections, making retrieval easier for all the ZSL library staff as well as for researchers, students, artists, zoologists and others working at their desks.'

Ann Sylph, Librarian, commented:

'I am delighted to welcome Ann Datta, to the ZSL Library team. Already the impact of Ann’s appointment has led to increased interest in the artworks at ZSL.'

Press Contact

Joanna Green - joanna.green@zsl.org - 020 7449 6236