Sphinx Caterpillar, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the heirs of Abbott Handerson Thayer
Accession Number
1950.2.19A
Tags
Art Historical Context
Abbott Handerson Th's *Sphinx Caterpillar, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom* (n.d.) is a captivating watercolor painting that exemplifies the artist's unique blend of fine art and natural science. Thayer, American painter influenced by Symbolism and Impressionism, became renowned for his pioneering theories on animal camouflage. This detailed study, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, created as preparatory work for his influential 1909 book co-authored with his son, Gerald, which argued that many animal patterns serve protective "concealing coloration" rather...