New Book on AMNH Dioramas: 



Windows on Nature 



The American Museum of Natural 

 History in partnership with Harry 

 N. Abrams, Inc., has published the first 

 and definitive book on the Museum's 

 famous habitat dioramas. Titled 

 Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat 

 Dioramas of the American Museum of 

 Natural History and authored by 

 Stephen C. Quinn, the richly illustrated 

 volume, available in both hardcover 

 and softcover editions, showcases the 

 Museum's world- 

 renowned habitat 

 dioramas as superb 

 examples of art 

 in the service of 

 science. 



The book includes 

 full-color pho- 

 tographs of more 

 than 40 featured 

 dioramas, rarely 

 seen historical pho- 

 tographs from the Museum's archives 

 and an informative, entertaining de- 

 scription of each diorama. 



Readers will encounter tales of adven- 

 ture and intrigue in the development 

 and creation of individual dioramas; 

 stories about the brilliant, passionate, 



and sometimes eccentric artists and 

 naturalists who made the dioramas; 

 eye-opening explanations of the art and 

 technology of diorama illusion; and in- 

 formation about the species and loca- 

 tions depicted, including the role of dio- 

 ramas in the conservation movement. 



Also included are background on the 

 development of dioramas as an art 

 form, the Museum's preeminent role 

 in the history of dio- 

 ramas, the fascinat- 

 ing and sometimes 

 mind-boggling tech- 

 niques of diorama 

 making, and the 

 current state of 

 diorama art. 



Stephen C. Quinn 

 is an artist and a 

 naturalist and 

 Senior Project Man- 

 ager in the Department of Exhibition 

 at the Museum. 



Windows on Nature is available in 

 Museum Shops in hardcover for 

 $40.00, and in a special softcover 

 edition, available exclusively at the 

 Museum, for $27.95. 



The Butterfly Conservatory 



The perennially popular 

 Butterfly Conservatory has 

 been extended and will now 

 be on view until June 23! 

 Visitors can stroll among 

 up to 500 live butterflies 

 while learning about their 

 life cycle and conservation 

 efforts, and, with luck, one 

 of the spectacular tropical 

 beauties might perch on an 

 outstretched finger or an 

 upturned head. 



This exhibition is made possible, in 

 part, through the generous support 

 of JPMorgan Chase. 



PEOPLE ATTHE AMNH 



Craig Chesek 



Senior Photographer 

 Department of Communications 



When Craig Chesek first saw an ad 

 for a photographer specializing in 

 shooting gems, minerals, and artifacts, 

 he responded quickly. The job description 

 closely fit his interests and background 

 as a commercial photographer. But as 

 Senior Photographer, Craig has had the 

 opportunity to photograph much more 

 than he signed up for. 



After a decade at the Museum, Craig 

 has photographed items as varied as the 

 Star of India and a newly named species 

 of bird, along with prominent figures 

 such as Harrison Ford, Maya Angelou, 

 and the Dalai Lama. His work has been 

 featured in many of the Museum's exhibi- 

 tions as well as Museum-related publica- 

 tions, including Windows on Nature. Over 

 the years, he has seen the Photo Studio 

 shift from strictly film to almost entirely 

 digital, with all the associated challenges 

 and advantages this transition entails. 

 He works daily to maintain "order in the 

 universe" of the photo archives and to 

 service all Museum departments in need 

 of the Studio's assistance. 



While his work has brought him to 

 several exotic and distant locales, 

 Craig's favorite assignment was a 

 location shoot in Mauritania, Africa, to 

 document Museum scientists conduct- 

 ing field research among 900-million- 

 year-old stromatolites, a specimen of 

 which is now on view in the Gottesman 

 Hall of Planet Earth. 



A self-professed "two wheel junkie," 

 Craig commutes to work daily on a bicy- 

 cle, or, when he can, his motorcycle. He 

 has motorcycled cross-country twice, 

 totaling 19,000 miles, to visit and photo- 

 graph numerous national parks. 



The contents of these paces are provided to Natural History by the American Museum of Natural History. 



