An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump is an oil painting on canvas completed by Joseph Wright of Derby in 1768. It shows a natural philosopher recreating one of Robert Boyle's air pump experiments, in which a bird is deprived of air, before a varied group of onlookers. They exhibit a variety of reactions, but for most of them scientific curiosity overcomes concern for the bird. The painting has been owned by the National Gallery, London, since 1863 and is regarded as a masterpiece of British art.Painting: Joseph Wright of Derby