Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History |  | Author: Stephen Christopher Quinn
Publisher: American Museum of Natural History/Harry N. Abrams
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
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Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 387532
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 180
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 11.2 x 10.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0810959402
Dewey Decimal Number: 570.747471
EAN: 9780810959408
ASIN: 0810959402
Publication Date: March 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
New York City's American Museum of Natural History is a national treasure, attracting four million visitors annually. Its dioramas-a dazzling mixture of nature, science, and art-have inspired young and old alike, and are world-renowned examples of the unique diorama craft: art in the service of science. Now, in the only book of its kind, readers get an insider's view of these "windows on nature," witnessing their creation step by meticulous step.
More than forty of the museum's finest dioramas are featured here, depicting the fauna and flora of myriad ecological environments. Stephen Quinn, a diorama artist at the museum, introduces the explorers, naturalists, painters, sculptors, taxidermists, and conservationists behind these three-dimensional marvels, and explains how their collaborations make the displays so lifelike. This enchanting book is the perfect gift for nature lovers, art enthusiasts, and museum goers everywhere.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
What a Gem! June 4, 2006
D. Vandervalk (Thousand Oaks, CA)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I found this treasure at my local bookstore (could have got it cheaper here!), looked it over, walked away, came back and looked again, walked away again, but couldn't find anything else I wanted as badly. It is an elegant masterpiece. I happen to thrill at anything remotely connected to taxidermy, but this book will also interest those who like nature, museums, or art.
This book is specifically about the dioramas of one museum, but in telling how they were constructed - taxidermy, foreground, and background painting - it is enlightening to anyone who loves natural history museums in general. There are color photos of the dioramas today, and black-and-whites of the artists working on various stages of their development decades ago. The step-by-step pictures of how a huge elephant mount is put together are nothing short of fascinating. Then, in addition, there are behind the scenes stories about how each diorama came together, and some hair-raising tales of specimen collecting in Africa.
If I have a complaint, it is this: the author has written the text as if only addressing fellow New Yorkers, assuming his readers have already been to this museum and seen these dioramas in person. "Think back to your memories of visits to the grand diorama galleries of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City." I can't help but feel a bit excluded, having never been there, although I am perfectly able to appreciate the exhibits based on the museums I have had the pleasure to visit. Perhaps he underestimated the broader appeal this book would have, but at any rate he unknowingly sparks a desire in the rest of us to try to get there someday!
As visually impressive as it is informative April 3, 2006
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
A work as visually impressive as it is informative, Windows On Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas Of The American Museum Of Natural History is drawn from the studies of Stephen Christopher Quinn and presents a simply outstanding collection of the artistic creation of the animal and nature oriented displays since the museum's founding in 1869. Bringing together, for the first time in one superbly organized and unique collection, the artistic contributions of this New York based museum of natural history, Windows On Nature gives readers a chance to see the many inspiring (and sometimes incongruous) works of contributors to the great historical museum diorama displays. Windows On Nature is especially recommend-ed for academic and community library collections, as well as American Museum Of Natural History visitors and those engaged in study of nature-oriented art.
NATURAL WONDERS AND HOW THEY WERE MADE April 22, 2006
Eugene B. Bergmann
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a marvelous and beautiful book. It has great color photos of recreated natural settings--the dioramas that bring nature to life in the museum--and the text is a pleasure to read. The descriptions and additional photos not only tell about the scenes but provide innumerable details and stories about how they were made, and the very human and wonderful museum exhibition people who, with skill and ingenuity, created them--the world behind the scenes. Bravo!
Natural History memories of my youth January 23, 2008
Robert A. Michaels (Aberdeen N.J. USA.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My father introduced me to the wonders of the American Museum of Natural History at the age of five.The Hall of African Mammals was the highlight of my first interest in the 1930`s.The dinosaur exhibit and ocean life can capture the imagination and fascination of any child.
Windows on Nature is a must have in the library of any one with an interest in Natural History.
Memento Mori November 26, 2008
Francisco J. Calderon (Mexico City, Mexico)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The best memento you can get from your visit to this astonishing museum. My only regret is that, fifty years from now, these dioramas will be the only remains of a beautiful natural world that once was.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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