One doesn’t know why, but art that focuses on animals gets short shrift. And yet, our fellow creatures are so much more contained and complete than we are, their beauty void of vanity. Diana Vreeland of Vogue certainly thought so. Here is an exhibition on the pioneering artist August Gaul (1869–1921), whose bronze sculptures of animals—lions, owls, eagles, bears, ostriches, penguins, and more—are deeply observed homage. Gaul was influential, and this exhibition presents him in dialogue with contemporary works of art and testimonies from science and popular culture. —L.J.