People of the Museum: the Fedulovs, taxidermists State Darwin Museum

about exhibition

5 October 2021 — 5 December 2021

Расположение: transition

Location: Passage between buildings

The exhibition is devoted to the outstanding people in the history of the Darwin Museum. The taxidermists Dmitry Yakovlevich Fedulov and Philipp Yevtikhievich Fedulov represent one of the most extraordinary museum professions. The uncle and the nephew were the best specialists of their time. Both of them devoted a significant part of their lives to the Darwin Museum. Together they created more than 4,500 taxidermy mounts! The brightest episodes of the history of the museum and the most legendary exhibits are associated with their names.

Philipp Fedulov (October 10 (23), 1881— November 23, 1962) was "the best taxidermist in Europe" according to the founder of the museum, A. F. Kohts. Along with Nadezhda Nikolayevna Ladygina-Kohts and the artist Vasily Alekseyevich Vatagin, he was the co-founder of the Darwin Museum. He worked at the Darwin Museum for 43 years. Philipp Fedulov was a very skillful master. He could make a taxidermy mount of any animal. However, he preferred the largest and most challenging projects. The African elephant created in 1927 and the Asian elephant mounted in 1936 became the highlights of his career. The last large taxidermy mount created by Philip Fedulov was the famous trotter Ulov.

Dmitry Fedulov (October 23 (November 5), 1896 — December 20, 1985) was Philipp Fedulov's nephew. He specialized in making taxidermy mounts of small and really tiny animals. From 1927 to 1930, Dmitry Fedulov made more than 200 mounts of hummingbirds. A huge number of foxes, wolverines, and other fur-bearing animals were made by this master to illustrate the variability of species. He worked at the Darwin Museum for 61 years.

Rare archival documents and photographs, many of which are being exhibited for the first time, will tell you interesting and little-known facts about the Darwin Museum, its unique employees, and the unusual profession of a taxidermist.