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Sean Murtha
AFC, SAA
Birds, Landscape, Dioramas |
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The son of artistically inclined parents, Sean Murtha was encouraged at a young age to draw and paint. Inspired by the still-remaining pockets of field, forest and saltmarsh on the north shore of Long Island, NY, he settled early into the two areas of painting that would remain a lifelong interest- landscape and wildlife, especially birds. He studied painting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, graduating with a BFA in 1990, and though his naturalistic paintings were somewhat out of step with the conceptual work of his peers, he remained committed to the practice of direct observation from life, with a focus on nature. His early influences were Eric Sloan, N.C. Wyeth, Charles R. Knight, and the painters of the Hudson River School. Later, as wildlife became increasingly his focus, he was strongly influenced by Francis Lee Jaques, Robert Bateman, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Bruno Liljefors, Lars Jonsson and others. For reference he often visited nearby wildlife preserves, zoos, and the American Museum of Natural History, where, in 1996, he was hired to work in the exhibition department, largely on the strength of his studies of their mounted specimens.
The next ten years at the AMNH were formative ones. Introduced to a wide variety of disciplines, he grew both as an artist and as a naturalist. His background in landscape painting put him in a position to benefit from the skills passed down through a long line of diorama artists, especially James Perry Wilson, who had mastered the unique perspective challenges of painting on a curved surface. Murtha was especially fortunate to have met and been mentored by the last living diorama painter from the AMNH's "golden age", Fred Scherer, who himself was a disciple of Wilson's. While employed by the AMNH, Murtha produced over a dozen diorama backgrounds, many in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. He continues to create dioramas and natural history murals, most recently for the Bruce Museum in Greenwich CT, Earthplace in Westport CT, and the restoration of historically significant dioramas at the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport NY. Museum work has also given him numerous illustration opportunities, including paleontological restoration.
His field and studio work focuses on the birds and landscape of the Long Island Sound and its environs. Having spent most of his life on either side of the sound, he is well acquainted with its moods and its wildlife. The great variety of habitat and the myriad birds that inhabit it or use it as a migration stopover provide endless inspiration. An avid kayaker, he often explores the rocky Connecticut shoreline with binoculars and sketching supplies, observing birds and finding unique places and perspectives for plein-air painting. He lives with his wife, Deirdre, and sons Brendan and Graham, in Norwalk, CT.
He is a member of the Connecticut Plein air Painters Society, the Society of Animal Artists, the Lyme Art Association and the Rowayton Art Association, as well as the New Haven Bird Club and the National Audubon Society. He has exhibited at Windham Fine Arts in Windham NY, The Blauvelt Museum in Oradell NJ, The Cape May Bird Observatory Gallery in Cape May NJ, Earthplace Nature Center in Westport, CT, the Bennington Arts Center in Bennington Vermont, the Greene Art Gallery in Guilford CT, the Noroton Gallery in Darien, CT, and the prestigious Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau WI.
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Support for Conservation:
Seans primary focus is on the birds and landscape of the Long Island Sound, a fragile body of water between Connecticut and Long Island, NY. It is a major route for shipping bound for New York City, a popular area for recreational boating and fishing, and is surrounded by densely populated communities. As a result, natural marsh and shoreline habitats have been under tremendous pressure, and constant environmental vigilance is required to protect the last remaining natural areas, to obtain more, and to reduce pollution from surrounding watershed areas. With his art, Sean hopes to share the wonder of his encounters with nature on and around the Sound, believing that such a response is more effective at energizing environmental action than art that is shocking or overly preachy. To this end he has donated art or the proceeds from their sale to local environmental groups raising money for projects that help improve the condition of the Long Island Sound. Such events have included "Migration Festival" at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, CT, and "Green Fair" in Westport, CT, as well as events for Connecticut Audubon.
Special Achievements:
- 2011 - Award of Excellence-Society of Animal Artists
My painting "Sun and Spray" was awarded an "Award of Excellence" at the 51st annual exhibit of the SAA. I am honored to have received this award and to be included among an esteemed group of artists who also won awards.
- 2011 - Award of Excellence-Artists for Conservation
I was thrilled to receive a second "Award of Excellence" at the AFC annual show for my painting "Black Ducks Napping". Congratulations to the other award winners, who I am proud to share this honor with.
- 2009 - THE VANDERBILT MUSEUM HABITAT HALL RENOVATION
http://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/home.php
The dioramas at the Vanderbilt Museum preserve a formative stage of diorama design, and I had the tremendous opportunity to help bring them back to public life. Highly dramatic and theatrical, they nonetheless preserve a glimpse of places that can no longer be found in the same pristine state today.
- 2003 - THE MILSTEIN HALL OF OCEAN LIFE, AMNH
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean/
The opportunity to paint diorama backgrounds at the American Museum of Natural History was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. For the three-year renovation of the Hall of Ocean Life I was responsible for entirely re-painting ten backgrounds and restoring several others, including one by artist Francis Lee Jaques, one of my artistic heroes.
Collections:
- 2007 - Earthplace
- 2007 - American Museum of Natural History
- 2000 - John Lanzendorf
Publications:
- Windows on Nature The Great habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History (2006)
More about Windows on Nature The Great habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History
I am proud to be included in this book as one of many diorama artists, including some of my greatest inspirations; Francis Lee Jaques, James Perry Wilson, and Fred Scherer. - This is a lavishly illustrated and thoroughly researched summary of the long line of artists at the AMNH who brought the diorama to its highest level of artistic development.
Author: Stephen C. Quinn
Published by: Abrams/AMNH
- Dinosaur Imagery (2000)
More about Dinosaur Imagery
I am one among many artists featured in this book - a stunning showcase of John Lanzendorf's unparalleled collection of dinosaur art.
Author: The Lanzendorf Collection
Published by: Academic Press
Organization Membership:
- Society of Animal Artists
- National Audubon Society
- Lyme Art Association
- The New Haven Bird Club
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