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Books about Louis Agassiz Fuertes

The books are ordered by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes

- book illust. 1897 to 1930
- book illust. 1931 to present
- books about Fuertes
- contributions to Bird-Lore

Bird art

Bird art

Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of The Field Museum of Natural History

Paul A. Johnsgard

2008

This manuscript was produced in 1998-99 but not published at that time. This electronic edition is the first publication.

From the preface: "The year 2009 marked the 11Oth anniversary of the first colored reproduction of a Fuertes painting; a watercolor of two seaside sparrows published in The Auk, when Fuertes was about 25 years old. Although Fuertes' life spanned little more than a half-century, and most living ornithologists were born after his tragic 1927 death, his influence on natural history art has not lessened. This manuscript is a testimony to his enduring artistic legacy. I first looked in awe at the original set of Fuertes paintings in the summer of 1995, during a visit to the Field Museum in conjunction with my research on North American hummingbirds and avian brood parasites. Like many other lovers of fine bird art, I had marveled at the Field Museum's 1932 album of Abyssinian plates, but the sight of all the additional, and especially the original, images was overwhelming. I inquired at the time about plans for possible publication of the entire collection, and was told that this was under consideration."

The Art and Artistic Legacy of Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Paul A. Johnsgard

The Nebraska Bird Review

2006

Opening lines: "Perhaps some Nebraska birders will not immediately recogniz.e the name Louis Agassiz Fuertes, as he died almost 80 years ago. Yet he influenced the art of bird painting as much as did John James Audubon, and provided wonderful artwork for many major state bird reference books. He also personally tutored George Miksch Sutton, the Nebraska-born artist and biologist who provided the NOU with its Burrowing Owl logo, and who contributed greatly to American ornithology, especially that of the southern Great Plains."

To a Young Bird Artist: Letters from Louis Agassiz Fuertes to George Miksch Sutton

Commentary: George Miksch Sutton

2002

Originally published by the University Of Oklahoma Press in 1979.

"These collected letters were written by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, one of the country's most well known bird artists, to ornithologist and bird illustrator George Miksch Sutton when Sutton was still a boy struggling to learn the art of bird painting. Written between 1915 and 1927, the letters are filled with Fuertes' observations of bird behavior, descriptions of his bird study and painting techniques, and advice on how to paint lifelike avian images and make one's way in the rapidly changing birding world all at a time when birding was becoming less an exclusive activity for scientists and more a popular hobby for the general public. Words of wisdom from the "father of modern bird art" A birding classic brought back to print."

A Celebration of Birds: The Life and Art of Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Robert McCracken Peck

Foreword: Thomas Peter Bennett

Walker & Co / Collins

1982

A biography of L.A. Fuertes and celebration of his work. Written to coincide with a major exhibition in 1981. 178 pages with many colour and black and white reproductions of Fuertes work.

"The book was published to accompany a major exhibit of Fuertes' work, prepared of the auspices of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. This is the most comprehensive book to date to examine the essence of Fuertes' genius; to illustrate how he worked as an artist, explorer, and natural scientist; and to assess his enormous influence in the worlds of fine art, ornithology, and birdwatching, a pursuit to which his work did so much to popularize."

To a Young Bird Artist: Letters from Louis Agassiz Fuertes to George Miksch Sutton

Commentary: George Miksch Sutton

1979

Reprinted by Stackpole Books in 2002.

American Wildlife Painting

Martina R. Norelli

1975

Focusses on Audubon, Catesby, Fuertes, Heade, Thayer and Wilson. 224 pages with many colour and black and white illustrations.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes & The Singular Beauty Of Birds

Editor: Frederick George Marcham

Introduction: Roger Tory Peterson

Haper & Row

1971

230 pages with 60 full page colour plates and many black and white sketches. Includes a biographical essay and selections from Fuertes letters.

Bird Art In Science: The Growth Of A Tradition

R.L. Scheffel

University of the State of New York

1964

A 30 booklet that discusses Audobon, Fuertes, Gould, Abbot Bartram and other bird artists.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes: His Life Briefly Told and His Correspondence

Editor: Mary Fuertes Boynton

Oxford University Press

1956

316 pages. Includes a bibliography.

Artist and Naturalist in Ethiopia

Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Wilfred Hudson Osgood

1936

Based on diaries kept by Osgood and Fuertes during the Field Museum Expedition to Ethiopia in 1926. Includes 16 colour plates by Fuertes.