Roger T. Peterson "Robin" Signed Lithograph LE

Artist: Roger Tory Peterson

Title: Robin

Medium: Lithograph on Paper

Limited Edition: 302/950

Art Dimensions: 19.5 H x 16.5 W inches

ARTIST BIO:

Roger Tory Peterson's signature contribution to the arc of the American Conservation Movement was the modern field guide. Trained as an artist, Peterson understood the power of art to inform, inspire and illuminate people about the natural world. His illustrated field guides allowed for easy, accurate identification in the field. The experience of using the field guide has helped millions of people across the globe really see the natural world. To be inspired by it. To fall in love with it. Throughout his multifaceted career, Peterson helped us to see the challenges, too - the devastating impacts of pesticides, habitat loss and other environmental ills. He also demonstrated that each and every one of us can make a difference in protecting the earth's diversity of plants and animals.

Roger was born and raised in Jamestown, New York. From a young age, he was entranced by nature. At a time when children were not allowed outdoors after dark, a young Roger asked and was granted permission by the local chief of police to stay out late to collect moths. At the age of 11, he discovered a clump of feathers clinging to the side of a tree:

"It was a [northern] flicker, tired from migration. The bird was sleeping…but I thought it was dead. I poked it with my finger. Instantly, this inert thing jerked its head around, looked at me wildly,, then took off in a flash of gold. It was like resurrection. What had seemed dead was very much alive. Ever since then, birds have seemed to me the most vivid expression of life."

Like many in Jamestown at the time, Roger found his first employment in one of its many Swedish furniture manufactories. Skilled with a paintbrush, his job was to decorate Chinese lacquered cabinets. A supervisor encouraged him to pursue a career in art. Roger saved his money and moved to New York City to attend the Arts Student League and later the National Academy of Design. While there, Roger fed his other passion as a member of the Bronx County Bird Club and with regular visits to the Museum of Natural History to study its bird collection. Combining his love of art and birding, Roger came up with the idea for a guide to help bird lovers like him make quick and accurate bird identifications in the field. Published in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression, the initial run of 2,000 copies sold out instantly.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America was revolutionary for its illustrations and "Peterson System" of field marks and classifications. Through five editions over the course of six decades, it sold millions of copies during Roger’s lifetime. Roger illustrated and authored or co-authored numerous field guides specific to other geographies, including, A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. He published field guides for native plants and other books about birds and nature, including Wild America. Co-authored with British ornithologist James Fisher, it is a chronicle of their 100-day, 30,000-mile field trip around the United States in search of birds. The book features exquisite black and white drawings by Roger — quite distinct from his field guide art and his fine art paintings of birds, they reflect Roger’s expansive capacity as an artist.

Roger's field guide inspired many others — by David Allen Sibley, Kenn Kaufmann and Lillian Stokes, to name a very few. Which field guide is "best" is a hotly-debated topic. However, for many, the Peterson guide remains the definitive "bird bible." In fact, the entire Peterson Series of field guides, published by Houghton Mifflin and covering a wide range of plants and animals, is the comprehensive go-to resource for introducing the next generation of nature lovers to the rich diversity of life on the planet.

Early in his career, following the publication of his first field guide, Roger worked for the Audubon Society. Like many of his time, Roger had been a Junior Audubon Club member, paying an annual dues of a dime. For nearly a decade, he served as Audubon’s educational director and art editor of Audubon Magazine. For many years following his departure from Audubon, he served on its board of directors and wrote and illustrated a regular column for the magazine, chronicling his world travels and weighing in on the critical conservation issues of his time. For instance, Roger was among the first to identify DDT as the cause of the catastrophic collapse in the population of ospreys, bald eagles and other bird species. In his testimony before a United States Senate Subcommittee, Roger reported shared that "The side effects of most [DDT] spraying programs go undocumented and more than 100 million birds are probably killed yearly. I just could not live without birds, frankly. I would hate to live in a lifeless world."

Source: https://rtpi.org/about/about-roger-tory-peterson/
Condition Report: Good