Artwork That Will Inspire You to Save the World

In an age when people are more eco-conscious than ever, it’s refreshing to see art that’s bringing awareness to air pollution, plastics and trash.

But watercolor artist Peggy Macnamara’s work at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History is bringing awareness to nature itself. Peggy has traveled with the Keller Science Action Center (the conservation arm of the museum) and its scientists from all over the world to paint nature and illustrate the Action Center’s conservation efforts.

Through its work, more than 23 million acres of wilderness in the Amazon headwaters have been protected. And Peggy’s art stands as a proud benchmark showcasing the ecosystem that the museum helped protect and preserve.

Peggy’s detailed and colorful work also helped sway the Peruvian president’s decision to establish Yaguas National Park, a 2-million-acre Amazonian preserve with Peru’s greatest diversity of freshwater fish and also the biodiversity and spiritual epicenter for local indigenous people.

Visitors to the Field Museum’s Hall of Art can see some of Macnamara’s paintings on permanent display there, each with its own liberating, colorful flare that’s as free and natural as the subjects they depict—and with just as much hope.

For more of Macnamara’s work and her unique take on environmental awareness, visit her website.