The DePaul University Art Gallery will open its autumn exhibition in a new 4,000 square foot space in the John T. Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore, with a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sept. 25.

The exhibition is entitled "The Natural Order of Things: Visualizing Evolutionary Theory," and is in keeping with university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences autumn quarter centennial salute to the natural sciences and mathematics. The show highlights the works of 17^th, 18^th and 19^th century scientists who collected and classified plant and animal species, and recorded what they found through drawings and models.

The exhibition contains 15 prints as well as paintings, books and models. The prints are of botanical and animal themes. The earliest book is from the 15^th century and contains prints of plants and their medicinal uses. There also is a first edition of Charles Darwin’s "The Origin of Species" included in the book collection. The models are life-like replicas of plant life that are made of glass and paraffin.

"The prints and models come from a time when scientists were looking at plant and animal kingdoms to study the diversity of species," said Louise Lincoln, director of the gallery. "Today, we look upon these pieces as pretty and artistic, but in their time they were scientific documents that helped to construct the system of plant and animal classification and allowed Darwin and others to develop a theory of evolution of species."

The art gallery, previously housed in McGaw Hall, has twice as much space in its new home on the first floor, South Wing of the Richardson library. The increase in gallery space now makes it possible for DePaul to exhibit its permanent holdings. "The university has an art collection comparable to that of the University of Chicago or Northwestern and is now able to show works that have not been shown before," said Lincoln. An additional bonus, according to Lincoln, is the increase in storage and office space, which comprises about 2,000 square feet.

"The Natural Order of Things; Visualizing Evolutionary Theory" will be on exhibit through Dec. 11. The exhibition is made possible through loaned materials from the Field Museum of Natural History, Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill., Loyola University, Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., and the Kenyon Oppenheimer Gallery. The reception is free and open to the public. For more information about this and future exhibitions, call 312/325-7506.

Other DePaul Science Centennial Quarter events include the dedication of the William G. McGowan Biological and Environmental Sciences Center, 2335 N. Clifton Ave., which features NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin as keynote speaker at 3 p.m. on Sept. 27; and a lecture by DePaul centennial laureate Stephen J. Gould, professor of geology and zoology at Harvard University, at 7 p.m. at St Vincent’s Church, 1010 W. Webster Ave. on Oct. 1. Both events are free and open to the public.