The Sky Painter

Louis Agassiz Fuertes
(Licensed under Creative Commons)

Most of us have probably never heard of Louis Fuertes but if you have visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York you have seen his work. Inspired by John James Audubon, Fuertes became known as the Father of Modern Bird Art. Unlike Audubon and other artists of the time, however, who posed dead birds that they had killed, Fuertes painted living birds in their natural habitats. As a child he cared for injured birds and dreamed of being a bird artist. After learning to paint quickly to capture fast-moving subjects, Fuertes created a new form of bird art that showed birds in action and life in their eyes and feathers. His work appeared in many books of his time and he made many expeditions to "capture" new birds. In the 1920s collector cards featuring his art were included in boxes of baking soda. These cards and his art are credited with helping to turn bird-watching into the popular sport it is today.


The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist, by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Aliona Bereghci, is written in the first person and poetically traces Fuertes' life with minimal text. Pages are filled with watercolor and ink drawings of various birds, often labeled for identification. Bereghci doesn't try to mimic Fuertes style in her drawings, and in fact, we only see reproductions of his images in the historical note. The result is an amazingly beautiful book that will surely inspire artists of all ages.

Black-headed heron'
(Licensed under Creative Commons)

Parents and teachers should visit Margarita Engle's website for an activity kit to use with this beautiful book.











Note: I received a copy of the book from the author