Paul Johnsgard

The Abyssinian Art of Louis Agassiz Fuertes in the Field Museum Paul Johnsgard

This book documents the paintings and drawings executed by Louis Agassiz Fuertes during the Field Museum of Natural History's seven-month expedition to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in 1926-27. During that time Fuertes completed 70 field watercolors of 55 species of birds and four species of mammals, 34 pencil drawings of 13 species of mammals and 11 species of birds. This book identifies and describes the biology of all 69 species of birds and mammals illustrated by Fuertes and includes 32 color reproductions of Fuertes's watercolors that were published as a limited-edition album in 1930 by the Field Museum. The 60,000-word text provides brief summaries of all these species' ecology, behavior, and reproductive biology as well as information about their current populations and conservation status. It reviews Fuertes's life, his influence on modern bird and wildlife art, and his participation in the Field Museum's Abyssinian Expedition, with more than 250 bibliographic citations.