Martha Maxwell

Martha Ann Maxwell (née Dartt 21 July 1831 – 31 May 1881) was an American naturalist, artist and taxidermist. She helped found modern taxidermy. Maxwell's pioneering diorama displays are said to have influenced major figures in taxidermy history who entered the field later, such as William Temple Hornaday and Carl Akeley (the father of modern taxidermy). Among her many accomplishments, she is credited with being the first woman field naturalist to obtain and prepare her own specimens.

Biography

Early life Maxwell was born Martha Dartt to Spencer and Amy Sanford Dartt on 21 July 1831 Her father died in 1833 and her mother remarried in 1841 to Josiah Dartt, Spencer's first cousin. It was her grandmother, Abigail Stanford, who first instilled a love of nature in Maxwell, taking her for walks in the woods. In 1851 Maxwell left for Oberlin College in Ohio with plans to become a teacher. She had to drop out in 1852 due to her family being unable to afford the tuition. She returned to her parents, who were then living in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

In 1862 Maxwell returned to Baraboo, where she studied taxidermy, taught by a local man named Ogden. In 1868 James persuaded her to return to Colorado.

Hoping to find more support in a larger city, Maxwell moved her museum to Denver a little more than a year later. By then she was also a regular correspondent of Spencer Fullerton Baird. Maxwell sent him two bird specimens in 1874 and he in turn supplied her with catalogs of birds and mammals. Prior to this, traditional methods of taxidermy involved "stuffing" skins with hay, rags, or sawdust and sewing the skins together, with results that were often misshapen. It is speculated this display was the first of its kind.

Death and afterward Maxwell died in Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York on 31 May 1881 of an ovarian tumor.

After Maxwell's death her daughter contracted with J.P. Haskins in Saratoga Springs, New York to exhibit and/or sell the collection. The collection was exhibited several times but was then placed into storage. Unfortunately it was not put away carefully and pieces began to disintegrate. In 1920 Maxwell's sister, Mary, tried to retrieve the collection and planned to donate work to the University of Colorado. However, the pieces had aged badly and there was nothing worth preserving.