Picture No 13344711 Date Description Experiment on Bird in Air Pump, Joseph Wright, 1768 Details An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump: a philosopher is demonstrating the formation of a vacuum by withdrawing air from a flask containing a white cockatoo. The vacuum suffocates the bird and leads to a painful death. Mezzotint after Joseph Wright of Derby, ca. 1780. The original artwork was painted in 1768. The Air Pump was inspired by meetings between Wright and his friends, when they demonstrated experiments and discussed the latest scientific developments. Source Science Source Credit Line © Science Source / Mary Evans Picture Library