Fuertes Room by Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Opposite of Prosek's mural is the entrance to the Auditorium and the Fuertes Room.

This room was once the private library of Frederick Brewster. In 1909, Brewster commissioned Ithaca-born artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes to design the teak-paneled library and complete the oil paintings in the room. The birds depicted in these paintings are among some of Fuertes’ favorites, pictured in their most appropriate and natural postures and habitats.

This library was donated and incorporated into the current Lab building in 2003. As a piece of physical history, this room contains many elements of the original library including the paintings, the books, and the door.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes was an accomplished American ornithologist, illustrator, and artist. After graduating from Cornell University in 1897, he set out on a series of expeditions that expanded his knowledge of birds. He applied this knowledge to his artistic and scientific works and became a lecturer of ornithology at Cornell. His dedication to the study of birds has proven invaluable, leaving his successors with 3,500 beautifully prepared bird skins and over 1,000 sketches of more than 400 different species of birds.