Charles R. Knight (1874–1953) is known as one of the first artists to give the public an idea of what prehistoric animals might have looked like. He was born and raised in New York where he began his career as an illustrator of these early creatures at The American Museum of Natural History.
In the 1920s, Knight was commissioned by The Field Museum to create a series of 28 large mural paintings for the Hall of Historical Geology. Completed in 1931, the series depicts the evolution of life on Earth, from the earliest life forms through the age of dinosaurs to the rise of large mammals in the Ice Age.
The majority of the murals—some of them twenty-five feet long—were subsequently relocated to Life Over Time in the 1990s. While many major museums have other works made by Knight, The Field Museum has the largest collection on public display.
All of the murals will be carefully cleaned by a paintings conservator and reinstalled in the new exhibition. Explore the images below to see samples of Knight’s compelling work.
|
