242 On Louis Agassiz Fuertes—Painter of Bird Portraits.


not only made sketches of the birds secured, but oil studies of the

landscape selected as the panoramic background for the habitat

group in which the birds were later to appear. In each instance

these are accompanied by detailed color sketches of leaves and

blossoms for the guidance of the preparator of the vegetation

modeled for the group. Where birds appear in the background of

the completed group, they are painted by Fuertes himself; and

the landscapist who realizes his limitations gladly avails himself

of this expert cooperation. Thus we have in these groups (notably

the Flamingo group) paintings by this artist which to bird-lovers

of later generations will have all the interest a panoramic painting

by Audubon of, for example, a flight of wild pigeons would have

for us today.


Because of the accuracy of his work, Fuertes is ever in

demand as the illustrator of technical and popular books and articles

on ornithology. His contributions to publications of this nature

amount to thousands of drawings; many of them have been ade¬

quately produced in color and, through their wide circulation, they

have exercised an educational influence of the highest importance.

Such for example are the illustrations in Eaton’s great work on the

Birds of New York, published by the State, those in the National

Geographic Magazine, and the series appearing in Bird-Lore.


In all of these illustrations everything is made subservient to

the bird itself, which usually claims as large a share of the picture

as it does of Fuertes’ attention. But in a series of twenty-four

large panels in oils, done for the library of Mr. Frederick F. Brewster

of New Haven, the birds, chiefly water-fowl and shore birds, take

their proper place in a series of strongly handled landscapes which

reveal Fuertes’ art in a new aspect. With no sacrifice of his skill

and insight as a painter of bird portraits, he has here placed his

subjects in a setting which adds immeasurably to their beauty and

to the appeal they make to the imagination. These pictures, in the

writer’s opinion, are Fuertes’ greatest achievement and point the


way for the development of his exceptional gifts.


* * * *


It was nearly eight years ago that I had the pleasure of

meeting Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, when staying in a country



