MASTER ARTIST OF THE WILD

(JAQUES, Francis Lee) JAQUES, Florence Page. Francis Lee Jaques: Artist of the Wilderness World. Garden City: Doubleday, 1973. Thick quarto, original green cloth gilt, original pictorial slipcase. $350.

First edition of this tribute to one of the most influential modern natural history painters, with 64 color plates and 100 finished drawings.

“With me the keenest interest of all has been in wildlife, and that includes its habitat” (Francis Jaques). In his entire body of art, Jaques “cast wildlife and wilderness, indeed the environment as a whole, as a fundamental but endangered heritage” (Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum). This retrospective of his work focuses on his dioramas (mostly for the American Museum of Natural History), early drawings, field sketches, scratchboards done for book illustrations, watercolors, and a selection of his finest oil paintings. During his prolific career, Jaques painted some 50 diorama backgrounds and illustrated over 40 books.

Fine condition.