Windows On Nature:
The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History
A book by Stephen Quinn
For generations, the Museum's dioramas have been beloved icons for visitors of all ages, inspiring windows into faraway places, and powerful reminders of the beauty and fragility of nature. Now through this milestone publication, for the first time, visitors can take the dioramas home with them and those not able to visit the Museum can enjoy and learn from these great works of art.
- The first and definitive book on the Museum's habitat dioramas
- Published by The American Museum of Natural History, in partnership with Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
- Richly illustrated with both full-color and archival photographs
- Showcases the Museum's world-renowned habitat dioramas as superb examples of art in the service of science
- Available in both hardback and paperback editions
- Features many of the Museum's best-known and iconic displays, including:
- Mountain Gorilla, African Buffalo, and African Elephant groupings in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals
- the Sperm Whale and Giant Squid and the great blue whale hanging in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life
- Alaska Moose and the Bison and Pronghorn Antelope in the Hall of North American Mammals
- and many more!
The 180-page book includes full-color photographs of more than 40 featured dioramas, many showcased in attractive double-page spreads; rarely seen historical photographs from the Museum's archives; and an informative, entertaining description of each diorama. Readers will encounter tales of adventure and intrigue in the development and creation of individual dioramas, eye-opening explanations of the art and technology of diorama illusion, and information about the wildlife species and geographic locations depicted.
Purchase exclusive autographed copies through the Museum's online store. Windows on Nature is also available in the Museum Shop at the American Museum of Natural History in hardcover for $40.00, and in an exclusive softcover edition for $27.95.
About the Author, Stephen Quinn
Stephen Quinn, Senior Project Manager in the Department of Exhibition, oversees all aspects of new diorama creation, and apprenticed under several diorama-art masters at the Museum such as Raymond deLucia, Robert Kane, and David J. Schwendeman. In the book, Mr. Quinn introduces the explorers, naturalists, painters, sculptors, taxidermists, and conservationists behind these three-dimensional marvels and explains how their collaborations make the displays so lifelike. He recalls the effort and imagination involved in creating the dioramas, whether it be the jewel-box setting of the Ermine and Red-Backed Vole habitat that appears to stretch for miles of Maine forest although the space is barely three feet deep, or the monumental Andros Coral Reef diorama that re-creates 30 square feet of ocean floor using 40 tons of real coral retrieved from The Bahamas in the 1920s.
"For most of us, these encounters with the distant untouched lands and exotic animals depicted in the dioramas will be the closest we will ever come to actually experiencing wild places and animals in nature," says Mr. Quinn. "Yet these exhibits provide us with such an accurate illusion and powerful compelling experience that they shape our understanding and appreciation of the real natural world."
