#  Face to Face: Portraits of Museum Animals by Jana Matusz 

 



What if museum animals were suddenly to come to life? Jana Matusz, an accomplished Massachusetts-based painter and founding sketching facilitator volunteer with the museum, has explored this with expressive prints, based on original paintings, that animate animals found in the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Jana Matusz’s portraits use vibrant color and texture to give life and voice to the faces of animal specimens otherwise frozen in time and space. Made with love and reverence for the animals she paints, Jana has imbued each with a personality all its own.

As Jana painted these portraits, she felt she made a connection with each animal. Jana hasn’t said exactly what they revealed to her. Take part in our “caption challenge” on social and answer the question, “What do these animal portraits say to you?”

Check our [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/harvardmuseumofnaturalhistory/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HarvardMuseum) or [Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/harvardmuseum/)to engage with us, and share your inventive caption! Use our #facetofacehmnh hashtag to follow the results!

[Read a Q & A with Jana Matusz](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/face-face-interview).



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/lion-cub)

   ![Painting of a lion cub.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhlioncub_body_web.jpg?itok=PzDSXhCn) 

 

 **Lion Cub**

 Found in the Africa Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/gray-wolf)

   ![Painting of Gray Wolf.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhgraywolf_web.jpg?itok=CdebYqVs) 

 

 **Gray Wolf**

 Found in *New England Forests*



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/hartebeest)

   ![Painting Hartebeest.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhhartebeest_web.jpg?itok=o4tqAX9e) 

 

 **Hartebeest**

 Found in the Africa Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/greater-rhea)

   ![Painting of the Greater Rhea.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhgreaterrhea_web.jpg?itok=kANXuLpZ) 

 

 **Greater Rhea**

 Found in the Birds of the World & South America Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/american-kestral)

   ![Painting of an American Kestrel.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhameriankestrel_body_web.jpg?itok=K8tiwNSu) 

 

 **Kestral**

 Found in *New England Forests*



 

   ![Painting of a Moonrat.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhmoonrat_body_web.jpg?itok=_-2PlSp6) 

 

**Moonrat**

Found in the Great Mammal Hall



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/northern-mountain-viscacha)

   ![Painting of the Northern Mount Viscacha.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhnorthenmtnviscacha_web.jpg?itok=2VtpYOWj) 

 

 **Northern Mountain Viscacha**

 Found in the South America Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/turquoise-fronted-amazon)

   ![Print of an Oil Painting of a Turquoise-fronted Amazon.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhturquoise-frontedamazon_body_web.jpg?itok=SZtMz-5u) 

 

 **Turquoise-fronted Amazon**

 Found in the South America Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/western-red-colobus)

   ![Painting of a Western Red Colobus.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhwesternredcolobus_body_web.jpg?itok=ZS8AvS35) 

 

 **Western Red Colobus**

 Found in the Africa Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/warthog)

   ![Painting of a Warthog.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhwarthog_body_web.jpg?itok=wJkrN5p-) 

 

 **Warthog**

 Found in the Africa Gallery



 

 [](https://hmnh.harvard.edu/coelacanth)

   ![Print of an Oil Painting of a Coelacanth.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/hmnh/files/matuszhhcoelacanth_body_web.jpg?itok=ty2ovqoU) 

 

 **Coelacanth**

 Found in the Romer Hall of Vertebrate Paleontology