Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Spring 2001
Abstract
John O'Neill is unique: the only active professional bird artist who is also a world-class ornithologist. He is thus a kind of reincarnation of George M. Sutton, O'Neill's mentor and the idol of thousands of lovers of birds and fine bird art. Since graduating from the University of Oklahoma, O'Neill has repeatedly visited the Peruvian tropics, discovering more than a dozen species (more than any other living biologist) and illustrating hundreds more for field guides and other ornithological books. His subjects are generally more detailed, and his palette brighter, than Sutton's, but he is able to use white space and vegetational backgrounds just as effectively as did Sutton himself.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Research 11:1 (Spring 2001). Copyright © 2001 Center for Great Plains Studies.