[Rarebooks] FS: Abbott H. Thayer -Color Theorizing Naturalist Painter

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

TITLE: “Abbott H. Thayer. Painter and Naturalist”

By Nelson C. White.
Published in Hartford by the author in 1951.

DISCUSSION: As definitive a biography of the complicated and elusive
artist as we are likely to get- White worked with Thayer’s family and
other artists who knew him to produce this privately-printed biography and
appreciation. Abbott H. Thayer [1849-1921] was an artist, art teacher, and
lifelong amateur naturalist, who spent most of his life in the rolling
hills and valleys of southern New Hampshire. A “singular” individual who
slept outdoors year-round and suffered bi-polar disorder for much of his
adult life, Thayer became a popular portrait painter and landscape artist
whose works were collected by the Freer Gallery of Art, Metropolitan
Museum of Art, National Academy of Design, National Museum of American
Art, and Art Institute of Chicago.

A gifted if eccentric teacher, he counted among his devoted students
Rockwell Kent, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and Richard Meryman. Thayer is
perhaps best remembered today for his interesting theories on natural
camouflage in the animal kingdom, and its possible application to military
warships and airplanes. Called by some the “father of camouflage,” he
conducted extensive studies into the function of countershading in nature,
and obtained a patent for its use on military vehicles. In 1909 Thayer’s
son Gerald published “Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom”, which
was an examination, complete with fabulous color plates, of his father’s
work on the subject.

DESCRIPTION: Hardcover. 8”x11”, 277 pages, several color and many black &
white plates. Inscribed by the author.

CONDITION NOTES: Minor wear, but overall clean and nice, with a tight
binding and no marks.

PRICE: $375.00

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