A Catalogue Of Portraits, Paintings And Sculpture At The Natural History Museum, London

This series sets out to make available the rich research resources of the Natural History Museum. This third volume describes 90 portraits of eminent figures in natural history, together with 39 oil paintings of natural history subjects, held in the Museum's collections. It includes all cast, sculpted, painted and drawn portraits and all other paintings. About two-thirds of the items are ilustrated, providing images of most of the naturalists who have shaped our understanding of the natural world over the past 200 years. Scientifically, the highlights are Carl Linnaeus, Sir Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin and William Smith. Notable artists represented include Homan Hunt, Nathaniel Dance and Wilhelm Kuhnert. Entries for portraits give the full name of the subject, with dates of birth and death; biographical notes and references to further information; item numbers and descriptions; inscriptions on the items; dimensions; provenance; and references to literature on the items. Entries for oil paintings are similarly described with the animal or plant depicted given at the top of the entry, and the inclusion of information on the artist.