Lessons from the Animal Kingdom

Dear Joan of Art:
A few years back I saw a few paintings by Abbott Thayer during a museum visit, and I seem to remember reading that he was a camouflage artist. But, now I can't even find mention of him in my general art books. Any suggestions?

Dear Visitor,

You have a good memory. Abbott Thayer had a lifelong interest in nature and developed a theory of camouflage that was used by the military.

"Thayer developed a theory of natural camouflage in animals, which appears in its most complete form in the book Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom (1909), nominally written by his son Gerald. Interspersed in the text are illustrations of various animals, which demonstrate their invisibility under certain environmental conditions. Thayer's precepts were challenged by some scientists and by Theodore Roosevelt, but his research brought the issue of camouflage before the public, and some of his theories were put to military use during World War II."

This work in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, Blue Jays in Winter, displays Thayer's many talents. You can learn more about the artist and his work in our online exhibition, Abbott Handerson Thayer.

Joan of Art

Source: Grove Dictionary of Art Online at http://www.groveart.com.

Pictured: Abbott Handerson Thayer, 1849–1921, Blue Jays in Winter (study for book, Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom) , about 1905–09, oil, 22 1/8 x 18 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the heirs of Abbott H. Thayer.