Art of National Geographic

by Carter, Alice; Sloan, Chris; Gould, Stephen Jay

• ISBN13: 9780792279204
• ISBN10: 0792279204
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-01
• Publisher: National Geographic

Summary

For more than a century, the National Geographic Society's illustrators have taken readers to places beyond the reach of the camera's lens, on extraordinary journeys of the imagination, to destinations that can be seen only through the artist's eye. With vivid colors and subtle brush strokes, they have led us back to the birth of our planet and forward to the colonization of space. They have laid out before our wondering eyes the enigmatic faces of our earliest ancestors and the rich mysteries of the natural world. Selected from the more than 12,000 illustrations in the National Geographic archives, the 156 stunning images reproduced in this book make up the first comprehensive exhibition of this important collection of artwork. The 65 illustrators represented include such widely known artists as N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, James Gurney, Syd Mead, and three-time Caldecott Award-winner Jerry Pinkney, as well as many others whose unmistakable styles are known to National Geographic readers worldwide. The Art of National Geographic explores science and nature, humankind's accomplishments and conflicts, and all the wonders of the universe in a wide variety of media, from oil paint and watercolor to cutting-edge computer graphics. In his salutary foreword, renowned scientist and author Stephen Jay Gould confirms the continuing importance of illustration to scientific investigation. In the book's lively and informative text, Alice A. Carter, an award-winning illustrator herself, reveals as much about the behind-the-scenes adventure of creating this art, and the science behind it, as it does about the artists themselves. For art lovers, armchair explorers, history and science buffs alike, The Art of National Geographic is at once a glorious visual treasury and an invaluable reference, a sweeping excursion through our world and our achievements, and a fascinating history of the National Geographic Society's century-long commitment to outstanding illustration.

Author Biography

Alice A. Carter is a professor at the School of Art and Design at San Jose State University.

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Joy and Necessity of Illustration	6	(7)
Stephen Jay Gould
Introduction	13	(7)
Alice A. Carter
Paleontology and Anthropology	20	(34)
Details of Evolution and Prehistory, from Life in the Cambrian Seas to the Magnificent Age of Dinosaurs, to the Daily Lives of Early Humans
Exploration and Discovery	54	(32)
Our Exploration of the Planet and the Scientific Discoveries that have Extended Geographic Knowledge
Natural History	86	(56)
Early Illustrations that Cataloged Wildlife Species and Later Paintings of Complex Ecosystems
Conflict and Chaos	142	(30)
A Visual Record of Some of Our Most Decisive Historical Moments
Universe	172	(20)
Images that Extend our Understanding of the Solar System and Provide a Sense of the Forces that Created and Control the Universe
World Cultures	192	(31)
World Cultures, Ancient Civilizations, and Contemporary Indigenous Cultures
Afterword: The Art of Adventure - Behind the Scenes at National Geographic	223	(7)
Christopher P. Sloan
Biographical Index	230	(8)
Acknowledgments and Credits	238