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| Steve's Flag Expedition will revisit the actual site of the American Museum of Natural History's Mountain Gorilla diorama in the Virunga volcanoes in Africa with the intent of documenting the changes that have occurred in the diorama and its painted background scene.
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 Stephen C. Quinn
SAA, AFC
Wildlife Art, Natural History Dioramas |
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Stephen Quinn sees his work as an artist, and the work of every wildlife artist, as a means to reconnect us to nature and the myriad creatures that share the planet with us. His art serves as a portal to transport us to a larger world of living things that we have a critical responsibility and accountability for. A personal expression of his own life-long preoccupation and obsession with wonder and mystery of the living natural world around him.
Quinn feels the current popularity of wildlife art reflects our own species' fascination with and longing for the wild, and the profound realization that, as living creatures, we all share far more similarities than differences will all living things and have an obligation to be aware and actively participate in the needs and natural cycles that all life on the planet depend on. He tries to capture his own sense of wonder in his work with the hope of sharing it with others. To this end, Quinn spends endless amounts of time outdoors observing and sketching directly from nature, so as to capture, directly, what he sees and experiences and how he feels about these. Quinn hopes, through his work, to nurture meaningful relationships with nature in others who view it and to use the proceeds from any sale of his work to support worthy wildlife conservation causes.
After having the great privilege of a long and fulfilling art career with the American Museum of Natural History, contributing to exhibitions that focus on science, the environment, conservation, and cultural understanding, Quinn now is dedicating his energy to his personal passion - creating art to evoke care and concern, as well as inspire action, for the protection of threatened wildlife and ecosystems worldwide while raising funds for its support. As part of his mission, Steve, after years of working under the discipline and meeting the scientific demands of museum curators, now wants to explore his own unique way of “seeing” things in his art. Disturbed by the current “Wildlife Art” genre’s dependence on digital photography from reference and duplication, Quinn’s goal is to paint and sculpt directly from nature or from memory so as to generate what, he feels, is, truly, his our personal and subjective expression of what he sees, feels and has experienced in nature over the years. This art, he hopes, will capture his own unique experiences and individual way of expressing them, even if they may sacrifice the minute details or impersonal documentation of photographic reference that characterizes a large percentage of contemporary “wildlife art”. With this philosophy and practice, Quinn hopes to become a pioneer and leader in advancing nature art away from it’s historical association with illustration and the commercial print and glice marketing mills that have encouraged mediocrity and stagnation. Quinn hopes to initiate and promote nature art will serve a greater purpose and better provide the critical message and goals of conversation that today’s world needs, as exemplified by the Hudson River School of the late 19th and early 20th.
Stephen was a recipient of an AFC Flag expedition fellowship that saw him travel to the Africa following in the footsteps of the great American artist/taxidermist and museum collector Carl Akeley. Quinn’s expedition, supported by AFC, the American Museum of Natural History, The Explorers Club, The Mountain Gorilla Veterinarian Project, The Houston Zoo, and the University of California at Davis, climbed up into the Virunga Volcanoe Range within the Democratic Republic of Congo to find the site of Akeley’s famed Mountain Gorilla diorama, relocate his grave site on Mount Mekino where he died, and celebrate his successful effort in establishing Africa’s first national park in Africa. During his stay up in the Virungas, Steve did a plein air sketch documenting the environmental changes that have occurred at the diorama site since Akeley visited in 1926. Quinn is actively planning other ways of using museum dioramas as documents of habitat loss, climate change, or environmental success stories.
As a member of the AFC Board of Directors, he is currently working on series field trips (for members in the NY metro area) to such inspirational places as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Associate Curator Kevin Avery will guide AFC members on a tour that will feature the inspiring history of the Hudson River School, it's role in evoking a reverence for nature, promoting it's appreciation and advocating for it's preservation during a time of great threat. If successful and meaningful for members, Quinn plans to initiate more programs for members in and around the New York area.
Locally, Steve and his wife, Linda, recently purchased the house next door to them in Ridgefield Park in New Jersey then promptly tore it down to create an “urban nature sanctuary” on the lot. They will install a small stream and pond, add a mini-bog, plant native bushes, and turn the 40-foot-by-100-foot property into an urban biodiversity hotspot. They will welcome local community groups, educating a generation about the wonder and diversity of wildlife around them — wildlife that survives and flourishes even in densely populated areas, and how important these small backyard “sanctuaries” are as resting places for migrating birds and butterflies that must navigate over the vast concrete and asphalt deserts that we, as humans, have created with our towns and cities. These tiny oasis’ may, in the future, make all the difference between survival and extinction for these tiny travelers who have used the skies above our homes as highways for millions of years prior to our arriving and altering the landscape.
The Quinns are part of a quiet movement of environmentally conscious homeowners across the country who take steps to ensure their yard is more than a patch of green lawn — that their little piece of nature serves as a vital oasis for wildlife amid the sprawling asphalt of suburbia. The Quinns may be among the extreme wing of environmental-minded homeowners, but their project has drawn praise from neighbors and local politicians.
Naturalist and artist Stephen C. Quinn joined the staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1974, and apprenticed under such diorama-art masters as Raymond deLucia, Robert Kane, and David J. Schwendeman. His first assignment was as a foreground artist for the Wood Stork diorama in the Hall of North American Birds, which started his life-long fascination and dedication to this unique art form
He served his first 20 years as an artist, honing his skills and understanding of the various diorama arts. Then, as Senior Project Manager for Exhibitions at the Museum, he oversaw all aspects of new diorama creation—including field expeditions, exhibit fabrication, and installation—as well as diorama conservation and restoration.
Now after retiring from the American Museum of Natural History in March 2012, he continues with the Museum with the emeritus title of Exhibition Associate, consulting and working on diorama-related projects. Some of Quinn's artistic contributions to the Museum's exhibitions over the years are: the Archeopteryx flight mural, the early tetrapod Acanthostega mural, the miocene horse diorama background painting, the eocene Arctic diorama painting, and the Emperor Penguin diorama, depicting a breeding colony at Cape Crozier in Antarctica.
He was a project leader for the 1995 field expedition to the Central African Republic, which resulted in the rain forest diorama in the Museum's Hall of Biodiversity and a project manager for the 2003 renovation of the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life.
Quinn provided the illustrations for the 1994 book "What Color is That Dinosaur" by Lowell Dingus, and was co-author of "Inside the Dzanga-Sangha Rain Forest" (1998) and author of "Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History" (2006).
He has been a member of the Society of Animal Artists since 1978, a member of Artists for Conservation since its founding, and is a member of the Salmagundi Club, one of the oldest art organizations in America. He has been elected a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and has been voted a Professional Member of the historic Boone and Crockett Club,
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Support for Conservation:
After having the great privilege of a long and fulfilling art career with the American Museum of Natural History, contributing to exhibitions that focus on science, the environment, conservation, and cultural understanding, Quinn now looks forward to dedicating his energy to his personal passion - creating art to evoke care and concern, as well as inspire action, for the protection of threatened wildlife and ecosystems worldwide while raising funds for its support through proceeds from the sale of his work.
Special Achievements:
- 1995 - Expedition Leader - 1995 AMNH Central African Expedition
Coordinated, supervised and participated in data and specimen collection and preparation during a one month expedition in the Dzanga Sangha Rain Forest in the Central African Republic. The expedition was cut short due to civil unrest that required staff evacuation into nearby Cameroon.
- 1994 - Expedition Leader - 1994 AMNH Costa Rica Expedition
Expedition leader for a 4 member team to collect botanical specimens and diorama references in montane rain forest in Costa Rica. Data, references and specimens were critical to the creation of a prehistoric-themed diorama depicting the formation of amber.
- 1976 - AMNH Warburg Scholarship Award
Quinn was awarded a scholarship to study painting with Donald R, Eckelberry at the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad, West Indies. Eckelberry remained as a strong influence and counselor throughout Quinn's artistic career until his death in 2001.
- 1976 - Asa Wright Nature Centre - Board of Management
http://www.asawright.org/
The Asa Wright Nature Centre is the oldest tropical environmental education and research center in the West Indies. While serving on the Board of Management from 1976 through 1979, Quinn focused on issues related to environmental education and ecotourism and served the Centre as an instructor/leader for its seminars in Tropical Ornithology and Painting from Nature.
- 1974 - New York Council on the Arts - Apprenticeship Grant Award
As a young art school graduate and wildlife artist, Quinn was awarded a one year grant to apprentice with the senior artists on the staff of the American Museum of Natural History, New York to learn taxidermy, background painting, model-making, and other unique diorama related arts.
- AMNH Education Department - Instructor in Animal Anatomy for Artists
Developed ciriculum for class entitled "Drawing Animals" at AMNH and have taught this class for over 30 years for the museums Education Dept. The classes focuses on mammal and bird anatomy, and drawing from mounted museum specimens.
- AMNH Expedition Travel Program - interpretive naturalist/lecturer/artist
Quinn has served as an interpretive naturalist, lecturer, and field artist for the AMNH ecotourism program "Museum Expeditions". He has led trips to such diverse regions as the Amazon Basin, Antarctica, Alaska, The Galapagos Islands, Egypt, The Bering Sea, Baja California, Western Europe, North, West and East Africa, Ireland, French Guiana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. He will be leading a trip for the museum to Newfoundland and Labrador this spring.
- AMNH Education Department - Interpretive Naturalist
Over his 35 year tenure Quinn has led local birding trips to Central Park, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Cape May, New Jersey, Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania, etc. as well as whale-watching tours to Cape Cod and Montauk, New York. He is most fond of the annual spring and fall bird-walks he has conducted in Central Park over his years at the museum, both for the fantastic birding it has provided, but more importantly the wonderful acquaintances and friends he has made.
Collections:
- American Museum of Natural History, New York
Quinn's paintings, murals, and diorama backgrounds are on permanent display in the exhibition halls of the museum and in the archival collection in the museums library.
Publications:
- Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History (2006)
- Since its founding in 1869, New York City's American Museum of Natural History has become one of the world's preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, attracting four million visitors annually.
In Windows on Nature, the first and difinitive book on the museum's world-renowned habitat dioramas, author Stephen Christopher Quinn guides readers through the museum for a dazzling look at nature, science, and art that is sure to inspire readers young and old alike.
This richly illustrated volume features vibrantly detailed full-color photographs of more than forty dioramas, rare and never-before-seen historical images from the museum's archives, and informative, entertaining descriptions of each diorama and its creation. Quinn's behind-the-scenes tour of these three-dimensional marvels introduces us to an extraordinary group of explorers, naturalists, painters, sculptors, taxidermists, and conservationists whose brilliance, passion, and eccentricities illuminate their creations. This unique showcase offers an exclusive look at the fascinating and sometimes mind-boggling techniques of diorama making, the development of dioramas as an art form and as a tool for wildlife conservation, and the museum's preeminent role in the history of art in the service of science.
Author: Stephen Christopher Quinn
Published by: Abrams
- Inside the Dzanga Sangha Rain Forest (1998)
contributing author -
Author: Stephen C. Quinn
Published by: Workman Press
- What Color is That Dinosaur (1994)
Illustrator -
Author: Lowell Dingus
Published by: Millbrook Press
- Harper and Row's Complete Guide to North American Wildlife (Eastern and Western Editions) (1981)
contributing artist -
Published by: Harper and Row
Organization Membership:
- 2013 - Boone and Crockett Club
http://www.boone-crockett.org
Elected a Professional Member to America's oldest wildlife conservation organization. Sponsored by Simon Roosevelt, great-great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, who founded the organization in 1887.
- 2011 - Salmagundi Club
http://www.salmagundi.org
Elected member to one of America's oldest art organization, founded in 1871.
- 2010 - Explorers Club
http://www.explorers.org
Elected as a Fellow in 2011.
- 2004 - Artists for Conservation - Board of Directors
Appointed to serve the Board in 2009
- 1978 - Society of Animal Artists - Signature Member
Nominated and elected to serve on the Board of Directors from 2007 until 2013.
- 1974 - Linnean Society of New York - Life Member
First joined as new staff member of the American Museum of Natural History. Have lectured and led field trips for this prestigious group.
- 1962 - Bergen County Audubon Society - Life Member
Member since childhood.
- American Association of Museums
Quinn has had a continued membership in AAM over his years at AMNH often participating in annual meetings and lecturing on natural history dioramas at the 2008 annual meeting in Denver.
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