Louis Paul Jonas

Louis Paul Jonas
Born Louis Paul Jonas
July 17, 1894
Budapest, Hungary
Died February 16, 1971 (aged 76)
Churchtown, New York
Nationality American
Known for Sculpture
African elephants in the Akeley Hall of the American Museum of Natural History

Louis Paul Jonas (July 17, 1894 - February 16, 1971)[1] was an American sculptor of wildlife and a taxidermist.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Jonas moved to the United States at the age of 14 and went to work at his brother's taxidermy studio in Denver, Colorado. Later he moved to New York City, where studied with Carl Akeley, a noted taxidermist and animal sculptor, and worked together to help create the African elephant group in the center of Akeley Hall at the American Museum of Natural History.[2]

Jonas founded Louis Paul Jonas Studios, Inc in Mahopac, New York,[3] a company known for its large animal and dinosaur sculptures, museum dioramas, bronze sculptures and animal miniatures.[4]

The company created the nine fiberglass dinosaur sculptures at the 1964 New York World's Fair in the "Dinoland" area,[5][6] which was sponsored by the Sinclair Oil Corporation.[7] Jonas consulted with noted paleontologists Barnum Brown, Edwin H. Colbert and John Ostrom in order to create sculptures that were as accurate as possible at the time.

Sculptures on display

In 1932, Louis Paul Jonas and his brothers created the taxidermy model of the famous Australian race horse Phar Lap that is now on display at the Melbourne Museum.[8][9]

Steggie II at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

A Jonas Studios sculpture of a stegosaurus, "Steggie II", is located in front of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.[10] Uncle Beazley, a model of a triceratops originally created for The Enormous Egg television show in 1968, is on display at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C..

References

  1. ↑ "Louis Paul Jonas". National Museum of Wildlife Art. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Jonas' Wildlife Sculpture in Big Demand". Schenectady Gazette. October 3, 1983. p. 2. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Elliot McCreary (October 1960). Louis Paul Jonas: He Makes Them Look Alive. The Rotarian. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  4. ↑ The World of Louis Paul Jonas. Life Magazine. March 23, 1942. p. 86. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Frank Leskovitz. "Sinclair Dinoland". Science Leads the Way. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ankylosaurus at HMNS: 40 Year Mystery Solved". Houston Museum of Natural Science. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sinclair's New York World's Fair (1964-65) "Dinoland" Pavilion". Sinclair Oil Corporation. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Phar Lap At the Museum". Museum Victoria Australia. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Phar Lap and Louis Paul Jonas!". Taxidermy.net. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Steggie II". Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Inventory. Retrieved 4 August 2014.

External links