From January 7 through May 18, 2014 the Roger Tory Peterson Institute hosted one of the most important exhibitions of nature and conservation art ever assembled. The exhibit, titled Bob Hines: National Wildlife Artist, celebrated the life work of one of the great wildlife artists and illustrators of the 20th century, and was presented in collaboration with Hines scholar and biographer Dr. John Juriga of Elmira, NY.
Bob Hines (1912-1994) is well known for his work in developing the federal Duck Stamp program, which has generated over $700 million to protect habitat for migratory waterfowl. He was a nationally recognized wildlife artist whose work became a crucial factor in a wave of interest in nature and conservation. Like Roger Tory Peterson, Hines helped educate a public eager to see, understand, and protect the environment.
The exhibit took the visitor on a tour of Hines’s lifework from his start as a conservation illustrator in Ohio through a long and storied career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which included working closely with legendary 20th century scientist and conservationist Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring helped usher in the modern environmental movement.
For anyone interested in the federal Duck Stamp program, nature-inspired art and illustration, environmental history, or art history and appreciation, it was a unique exhibition not to be missed.
