Louis Paul Jonas

Louis Paul Jonas
Born Louis Paul Jonas
(1894-07-17)July 17, 1894
Budapest, Hungary
Died February 16, 1971(1971-02-16) (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, taxidermist, and natural history exhibit designer.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Jonas moved to the United States at the age of 12 and went to work at his brothers' taxidermy studio, Jonas Brothers, in Denver, Co. Later he moved to New York City, where studied under Carl Akeley, a noted field naturalist, taxidermist, and animal sculptor. There, they created the African elephant group in the center of Akeley Hall at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York.[2]

Jonas opened Louis Paul Jonas Studios, Inc in Mahopac, NY,[3] and eventually moved to Hudson, NY. The studio was known for its miniature and full size animal sculptures, taxidermy, and natural history exhibits featured in over 50 museums worldwide.[4]

The company created the first full sized dinosaur sculptures for the 1964 New York World's Fair in the "Dinoland" area,[5][6][7] which was sponsored by the Sinclair Oil Corporation.[8] Jonas consulted with noted paleontologists Barnum Brown, Edwin H. Colbert and John Ostrom in order to create sculptures that were as accurate as possible. After the Fair closed, the dinosaur models toured the country on special flatbed trailers as part of a company advertising campaign.[9] Many of the statues are now on display at various museums and parks

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.[10][11]

In 1983, the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. hosted an exhibition of 75 wildlife miniatures created by Jonas.[12]

Dinosaurs

Stegosaurus from the 1964 World's Fair at the Quarry Visitor Center in Dinosaur National Monument
Steggie II at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Life-sized fiberglass models of dinosaurs created by Jonas Studios for the 1964 New York World's Fair are on display at:

A Jonas Studios sculpture of a stegosaurus, "Steggie II", is located in front of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.[18][19] Another copy, known as "Wally", is located at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[20]

Children playing on the Uncle Beazley sculpture on the National Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History between 1980 and 1994

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. ↑ "Dinosaur Fever – Sinclair’s Icon". Petroleum History Almanac. Washington, D.C.: American Oil & Gas Historical Society. 2016. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Sinclair Dinoland: New York World's Fair 1964-65". Science Leads the Way. Frank J. Leskovitz. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Ankylosaurus at HMNS: 40 Year Mystery Solved". Houston Museum of Natural Science. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Sinclair's New York World's Fair (1964-65) "Dinoland" Pavilion". Sinclair History. Sinclair Oil Corporation. 2013. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Sinclair at the New York World’s Fair". 1960s. Sinclair Oil Corporationl. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Phar Lap At the Museum". Museum Victoria Australia. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Phar Lap and Louis Paul Jonas!". Taxidermy.net. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Exhibitions: The Art of Louis Paul Jonas". Smithosnian: National Museum of Natural History. July 2 – August 28, 1983. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Park History". Dinosaur Valley State Park. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Visitor Centers". Dinosaur National Monument. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  15. ↑ Dr. Merkwürdigliebe. "Struthiomimus". Flicker. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Trachodon at Brookfield Zoo - Brookfield, IL". Waymarking. March 16, 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  17. ↑ (1) "A Dinosaur at the Zoo". Art at the National Zoo. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    (2) "Uncle Beazley". Histories of the National Mall. Fairfax, Virginia: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016. For a slow-moving dinosaur, Uncle Beazley is widely traveled. Before coming to the Mall in the 1970s, his home was the Smithsonian's Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. In 1994, Uncle Beazley moved from the Mall to his current residence, the National Zoo.
  18. ↑ Wendy Wasman (March 2, 2016). "Cleveland's Iconic Stegosaurus Prepares for Spring Break". Cleveland Museum of Natural HIstory. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "Steggie II". Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Inventory. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Who’s Wally?". Berkshire Museum. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
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