Spring has sprung, the days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and the birds are getting louder! We have searched the DOMA collection in order to find our most suitable spring objects. Here are some of our favorites to inspire you to celebrate the season.

Peonies, Charles Courtney Curran, 1975.500.007

These large double peonies range in color from white to rose and appear in full bloom in the late Spring. A native to China, the peony became the Indiana state flower in 1957. The woman depicted here is probably the artist’s wife Grace. Curran’s wife is wearing a frilly dress that mimics the flower petals. In the Victorian era book, The Language of Flowers, peonies denote bashfulness a trait that describes the shy Grace.

Vase, Samuel Schellink 1978.014.009

We know it’s Spring when we start to hear birds singing first thing in the morning. This chirping you hear in the early morning is called the “dawn chorus.” It’s when birds are singing louder and prouder than at any other time of day, and there are a few ideas about why that happens. Scientists have found that bird songs are most clear in the morning which means it’s a great time for a bachelor bird to show off his unique tune in hopes of attracting a female.

In Poppyland, John Ottis Adams 1995.035.040

Flowers will soon be in full bloom! Our Spring Special Exhibition, Impressions of Love,  offers a chance to view In Poppyland along with other paintings featuring the same poppy field!

Spring (Printemps), Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux L2017.015.000

“Spring (Printemps)” is a reduced-scale bust of a monumental figure of Flora, the goddess of Spring.  Carved around 1873, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, a sculptor of emotion, captures both botanical details, such as the crown of morning glories, and brief human expressions, including a laugh and a smile.