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Seton Biography
Chronology and facts about Seton’s life
Seton’s Greatest Nonfiction Nature Writing 1903-1928
Seton’s Travels illustration from Life-Histories of Northern Animals Between 1903 and 1907 Seton found himself mired in a controversy not of his own making. John Burroughs began what came to be known as the “Nature Faker” scandal in which he alleged that three writers...
Best Seller and Media Star 1903-1909 Biography
Seton Lecture Poster, ca. 1910 The extraordinary effort and hours Seton had previously put into commercial art now went into his writing career. Two Little Savages became yet another outstanding success, outselling five popular natural history titles published...
Seton in Montana and New York 1897-1902
Untitled bear, 19th Century, Ernest Thompson Seton Following the success of Art Anatomy, Seton received a major illustration assignment for Bird-Life (1897), an avian natural history book and identification key by the ornithologist Frank M. Chapman. A second book...
Art Anatomy of Animals 1894 to 1896 Biography
The Anatomy of the Greyhound. The Important Muscles (reproduced from the book). Seton published a major work in 1896, Studies in the Art Anatomy of Animals. It is an exquisite blending of art and science. The two years of Seton’s life following his return east from...
Seton Epic Paintings 1893 to 1895 Biography
Two paintings by Ernest Thompson Seton: Triumph of the Wolves (oil/canvas 53 x 79”) and The Pursuit (oil/canvas 44.5 x 59.5” see below). Images courtesy of National Scouting Museum—Philmont Scout Ranch Two major Seton paintings, Triumph of the Wolves (Triomphe des...
Sleeping Wolf in Paris Biography
Sleeping Wolf, oil, 1891, Academy for the Love of Learning There were worse things than to be an unmarried artist living in Paris in January 1891. Like other foreigners, Seton became a student at Académie Julian. Nude models (shocking! and not available in New York or...
Seton meets Joseph Wolf in 1890 Biography
Hawk study (drawing) by Joseph Wolf drawing from Seton’s personal collection Seton embarked for London in June of 1890, made a brief sojourn to Paris in August, but returned to England for the autumn and early winter. He had been disappointed in France “to find the...
Seton in Toronto and New York 1883-1890 Biography
Untitled, ca. 1880s, Ernest Thompson Seton Brief study of Seton’s day-by-day activity turns up a remarkable restlessness: He seldom remained in one place for long. While the Golden Days of his youth came to end as he decided to settle into a career at the end of 1883,...
Seton and Manitoba 1882-1883 Biography
Great Ring-Billed Gull, Academy for the Love of Learning Upon his return from London (and abandonment of life as an art student), Seton moved back in with his parents for what must have seemed an interminable five months. Apparently the only thing he and his father...
Seton and the Royal Academy in London Biography 1878-1881
In 1879, Two weeks after his nineteenth birthday, Seton settled in London and “opened a new epoch in my life.” He became a literal starving artist. The featured photograph at the head of this essay is a self-portrait drawing from that period. A rustic from the...
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