Museum of Royal Worcester
Severn Street
Worcester WR1 2ND
Tel: 01905 21247
Further contact details
We’re open:
Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 5pm
Sunday 10am – 4pm
Donations, however big or small, help us look after and create more remote access to the collections now and for the future. Donate below or find out more about how your donations can help.
There are other ways you can support us, from donating a pot, to leaving a legacy in your will. Other ways to support us.
The models produced by Dorothy Doughty revolutionised the skills of the Worcester workforce. Dorothy’s models of birds in their natural habitat stimulated the development of complex flower making, kiln propping and special matt colours for a realistic effect.
In 1935 Dorothy began modelling a series of Limited Edition American Birds for the American market and as a keen ornithologist was determined to make them as life-like as possible. Dorothy made two visits to America to study the birds in their natural habitat, making sketch models to spontaneously capture their character. Dorothy writes a delightful account of her study of this pair of Cactus Wrens in the Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona:
We found his nests in the most prickly cactus bushes, to be safe from snakes, for he hates snakes, and when he finds one he will perch above it and scold at it, exactly as our tiny English Jenny Wren will scold at a cat.
Handwritten Letter by Dorothy Doughty, undated: "Dear Friends in America [...] The American Bird Series are not the work of one person but of a Team. I will tell you about it."
Colour Photograph of Dorothy Doughty
Dorothy discussing the colouring of a new model with the supervisor of the painting studios. From 'The American Birds of Dorothy Doughty' by George Savage, 1962
Artist assembling a Magnolia Warbler. From 'The American Birds of Dorothy Doughty' by George Savage, 1962
Photograph of artists making flowers and leaves for Doughty's Birds. From 'The American Birds of Dorothy Doughty' by George Savage, 1962
Artist applying flowers to a Doughty Bird model. From 'The American Birds of Dorothy Doughty' by George Savage, 1962
