“Pets and the City” Exhibition at The New York Historical

A fun exhibition about New Yorkers and their beloved pets is on view at The New York Historical. “Pets and the City” explores the relationship between humans and their animal companions as New York City evolved from an agrarian settlement to an industrialized urban center. The exhibition includes artworks, documents, and memorabilia spanning two and a half centuries. It asks whether pets always ruled over our hearts, homes, and wallets or if dressing our pooches in Halloween costumes and buying them Coach collars is a more recent development.

As a New Yorker with a grumpy old Maltese as my best friend, I had to see what it was all about.

Pets and the City

“Pets and the City” opened on October 25, 2024, and runs until April 20, 2025. If you can’t make it to NYC, fear not! Continue reading for some cool pet history and fun photos. You can also check out the official website, which includes exhibition highlights to peruse.

The exhibition is arranged thematically, with the installation flowing through a series of rooms. Visitors are first met with illustrated murals depicting pets in a cityscape. Right off the bat, you get a visual definition of “pets.” A cute dog pokes his head out of an apartment window, and an unamused cat sits on a fire escape. A turkey perches on a building ledge, while an iguana climbs up the side of another. A snake slithers down from a rooftop, and a chicken pecks away on a stoop. The cast of characters is diverse in species and size. A newsstand of New Yorker magazine covers featuring pets is in a nook to the right.

Proto-Pets: Powerful Animals & the Hunting Culture

“Pets and the City” begins with the theme of Proto-Pets. This section explores the relationship between animals and New York’s Native Americans and early European settlers.

Native Americans

The inclusion of Native American culture is important since it recognizes the peoples who inhabited the land before “New York City” was even a concept. Native Americans experienced a spiritual unity with animals, particularly as kindred spirits. Their interconnected relationship often resulted in clan titles bearing animal names. When signing official documents, they used pictograms of animals as their signatures.

Hunting was integral to Native Americans’ way of life, with animals playing a central role. From the dog as a hunting companion to the slain animal giving its life force to the hunter, their connection to animals was sacred.

European Settlers

Hunting also played an important role in the lives of European settlers. The Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam had a rural, agrarian economy. It remained that way when the English took over and renamed the land “New York.” These folks were farmers who had to learn to hunt and fish to survive.

Closing out this section of the exhibition is a group of 18^th-century portraits of children with their proto-pets. These animals were wild creatures belonging to forests and rural settlements. They were also symbolic of the children’s virtues and the family’s status. Girls were depicted with lambs, while boys got deer, squirrels, and dogs.

Pets in the Family

As New York became increasingly urbanized and industrialized in the 19^th century, pets made their way into the home as part of the family. New Yorkers got their pets from all over the world, delighting in the exotic. Ross from Friends was certainly not the first New Yorker to have a monkey as a pet. The menagerie of pets in the 19^th century included primates, exotic birds, rats, fish, and reptiles.

Pet accessories became all the rage during this period. The need for humans to buy stuff for our animal companions is apparently not new. I’m glad because I feel less judged about the fact that my dog Lucky has more winter sweaters than I do.

The exhibition highlights just how important pets were by showcasing artworks with animals smack dab in the center of family life. The Peale Family by Charles Willson Peale is a great example. The family’s dog Argus prominently appears in the foreground, chillin’ with the humans.

Portraits with and of Pets

This section of the exhibition is exactly as it sounds – portraits of pets either by themselves or with their humans. The practice of inserting your pet into your portrait goes back to Renaissance Italy. An example that immediately jumps to mind is Portrait of a Lady with a Lapdog by Agnolo Bronzino. Anyway, while there is a nice big painting in this section, the main wall o’ portraits consists of photographs.

There are some real gems in this portrait collection, but one photograph that stuck out to me is a woman holding a big-ass turkey. Girl, what are you doing with that as a pet? I can’t be the only one who has seen videos of giant turkeys chasing screaming kids down the street.

Pets in Pop Culture

“Pets in Pop Culture” is a wild ride. As soon as pets made their way into our hearts and homes, advertisers slapped them on every kind of product imaginable. Pets graced the covers of magazines. They were on board games, toys, and paperweights. My favorite item is cats on cigarette holders, crica 1890s-1920s. Bizarre yet so damn cute.

Of course, our pooches and felines made their way onto the silver screen and television. Visitors can experience some film and TV clips by plopping down on a couch and watching a screen right in the middle of the exhibition.

Pests in the City

NYC has always had a “pest” problem. Pigs, dogs, and cows roamed the streets in the 19^th century. The painting No. 71/2 Bowery, New York City, ca. 1837-39 by De La Prelette Wriely depicts a pig right in the middle of the street, in front of a huge corner department store.

While that’s pretty funny now, it wasn’t all fun and games back in the day. In the mid-1800s, New Yorkers didn’t have ethical solutions for dealing with stray animals and livestock. Gangs of boys killed stray dogs for bounties. Dog catchers – and killers – hunted strays amid rabies fear. They also killed alley cats. Horses, especially those pulling carriages, were beaten and overworked.

Thankfully, in 1866, Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). In the same year, New York became the first state to pass an animal anti-cruelty law, giving animals rights.

Rats are one of New York’s biggest pest problems, although I didn’t see much about them in the exhibition. I wish there were a bit more about rats because I’ve hung out with so many of them in the subway. There’s also the roach problem, which wasn’t mentioned. Anyone who has lived in an NYC apartment will know what I’m talking about. It doesn’t matter how clean you are, if your neighbors are slobs or you live above a subway line, those fuckers will walk right into your place and set up shop.

Pets at Work: Working Animals & Heroes

“Pets at Work” focuses on working animals trained to perform tasks. Seeing-eye dogs, K9s, and search & rescue dogs are given their due. Bomb-sniffing dogs like Ajax and Laika assisted in the World Trade Center recovery, and their ID badges are on display. 

In addition to dogs, the exhibition includes monkeys who worked with street performers and a circus snake. Perhaps the hardest-working animal in the streets of New York is the horse. The exhibition dedicates a whole wall to horses that acted as New York taxis before the automobile was invented.

Pets on the Streets

This section of “Pets and the City” focuses on pets out and about in New York. Photographs and artworks depict animals on walks and in parks. There’s some fun signage about picking up poop that every dog walker has seen and abided by. A fun photograph in this theme is a kid walking his chicken in 1940s Harlem.

Prized Pets

“Prized Pets” is the last theme of the exhibition. It emphasizes the connection between humans and their beloved furry (and not-so-furry) companions. New Yorkers love their pets. We take them to doggie daycares and pet hotels. We dress them up in Halloween costumes and enter them in contests. Our furry friends are groomed to the gods and pampered with products and accessories. Pets, in return, give New Yorkers loyalty, love, and companionship in a fast-paced urban jungle.

How to See Pets and the City

Pets and the City is on view until April 20, 2025. The New York Historical’s address is 170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street). Admission fees are $24 for adults; $19 for seniors, educators, and active military; $13 for students; $6 for children 5-13 years old; and free for children under 5. From 5 PM to 8 PM on Fridays, admission is pay-as-you-wish.

You can plan your visit according to the following hours:

• Monday: closed
• Tuesday – Thursday: 11 AM – 5 PM
• Friday: 11 AM – 8 PM
• Saturday – Sunday: 11 AM – 5 PM

More about The New York Historical

To learn more about The New York Historical, check out the following blog posts:

A Totally Historic Guide to The New York Historical

“Pride and Protest” Exhibition at the New York Historical

Pets and the City Merch

Check out the following merchandise relating to pets in New York City. The following are Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no cost to you.