Abstract
The background painting of a natural history diorama is a crucial component contributing to the overall effect of the exhibit. It sets the frame for the taxidermy and other types of exhibits. This chapter discusses the work of early renowned artists in the field such as James Perry Wilson, his grid technique including later in his work the incorporation of photographs to inform and enable his work. Reference to original correspondence of Wilson, Chapman and Carlson are amongst other workers in the field whose work is highlighted to illustrate points in the development of technique in diorama construction.
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References
Carlson, J. F. (1934). Elementary principles of landscape painting. Pelham: Bridgman Publishers.
Chapman, F. M. (1933). Autobiography of a bird-lover. New York: D. Appleton-Century.
Wilson’s Correspondence Taken from
James P. W. Unpublished interview with Rudolph Freund and Rudolph Zallanger at the Peabody Museum, circa 1959 (AMNH Library Services).
Letters to Thanos Johnson, property of Michael Anderson.
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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Anderson, M. (2015). James Perry Wilson: Shifting Paradigms of Natural History Diorama Background Painting. In: Tunnicliffe, S., Scheersoi, A. (eds) Natural History Dioramas. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9496-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9496-1_6
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