African Menagerie: A Celebration of Nature

African Menagerie: A Celebration of Nature

Authored by Todd Wilkinson, with Introduction by Robert Bateman

Not in recent memory has there been a masterpiece such as African Menagerie.  It is one of the largest and most ambitious singular works in the history of wildlife art.  

And soon, it will be available through publication by Rizzoli International, in exquisite detail, in an oversize volume with gatefolds, authored by the gifted art and environmental writer, Todd Wilkinson, with an Introduction by wildlife art legend, Robert Bateman.

Brian Jarvi is, of course, an award-winning member of The Society of Animal Artists.  Having created a masterpiece that depicts more than 220 African species, Jarvi's stunning nine-panel polyptych, African Menagerie, 

is a work to behold.  And Rizzoli's forthcoming book, is more than up-to-the task of replicating, and interpreting Jarvi's vision.

Lavishly reproduced in an oversize format with a gatefold, African Menagerie : A Celebration of Nature brings Jarvi's masterpiece to the conservationist, the lover of Africa, and the fan of wildlife art. In oversized color reproductions, the book offers readers a look at the finer details of the realist renderings of the animals and birds across the seven panels that consume thirty feet. There are also reproductions of the animal studies Jarvi created in the seventeen years leading up to the final work. 

Many of the species featured in Jarvi's panorama are, according to experts, expected to be extinct in the wild by the middle of this century unless humankind takes bold action to ensure their continued existence.  To accentuate the point, Jarvi has positioned more than 200 different African wildlife species, as if they are looking at us, the human viewers, seemingly challenging us to save this planet.

In oversized color reproductions, African Menagerie brings the masterpiece home in an accessible manner. The studies offer a glimpse into the work and mind of a creative genius. In addition, the book tells the story of the work, and tracks the evolution and unlikely journey of Jarvi from once being a Duck Stamp artist to becoming one of the most notable African wildlife painters of his generation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Todd Wilkinson is an American journalist and founder of Mountain Journal. Wilkinson's work has appeared in a wide variety of national publications, ranging from National Geographicand Christian Science Monitor to The Washington Post and many others. He is author of several books, including the critically acclaimed Science Under Siege: The Politicians' War on Nature and Truth, Last Stand: Ted Turner's Quest to Save a Troubled Planet, Rizzoli's The Last Great Wild Places (National Outdoor Book Award winner), and Grizzly: The Bears of Greater Yellowstone (High Plains Book Award winner). Recently, his longstanding syndicated column, "The New West," was named best column in the country by the National Newspaper Association for small-market newspapers. Todd Wilkinson has also dedicated a sizeable portion of his long career as a wildlife art writer.

• Publisher: Rizzoli International 
• Available From: Amazon 
  
• Publication Date: October, 2018
• Format: Hardcover
• Category: Art - Individual Artists - Essays
• Publisher: Welcome Books
• Trim Size: 12 x 9
• Pages: 208
• US Price: $55.00
• CDN Price: $75.00
• ISBN: 978-1-59962-146-3

Links: 

Brian Jarvi's Website