Louis Paul Jonas

Louis Paul Jonas (July 17, 1894 – February 16, 1971)[1] was an American sculptor of wildlife, taxidermist, and natural history exhibit designer.

Louis Paul Jonas
Born
Louis Paul Jonas

(1894-07-17)July 17, 1894
Budapest, Hungary
DiedFebruary 16, 1971(1971-02-16) (aged 76)
Churchtown, New York
NationalityAmerican
Known forSculpture
African elephants in the Akeley Hall of the American Museum of Natural History

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Jonas moved to the United States at the age of 12 and went to work at his brothers' taxidermy studio, Jonas Brothers, in Denver, Co. Later he moved to New York City, where studied under Carl Akeley, a noted field naturalist, taxidermist, and animal sculptor. There, they created the African elephant group in the center of Akeley Hall at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York.[2]

Jonas opened Louis Paul Jonas Studios, Inc in Mahopac, NY,[3] and eventually moved to Hudson, NY. The studio was known for its miniature and full size animal sculptures, taxidermy, and natural history exhibits featured in over 50 museums worldwide.[4]

The company created the first full sized dinosaur sculptures for the 1964 New York World's Fair in the "Dinoland" area,[5][6][7] which was sponsored by the Sinclair Oil Corporation.[8] Jonas consulted with noted paleontologists Barnum Brown, Edwin H. Colbert and John Ostrom in order to create sculptures that were as accurate as possible. After the Fair closed, the dinosaur models toured the country on special flatbed trailers as part of a company advertising campaign.[9] Many of the statues are now on display at various museums and parks

Sculptures on display

In 1932, Louis Paul Jonas and his brothers created the taxidermy model of the famous Australian race horse Phar Lap that is now on display at the Melbourne Museum.[10][11]

In 1983, the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. hosted an exhibition of 75 wildlife miniatures created by Jonas.[12]

Dinosaurs
Stegosaurus from the 1964 World's Fair at the Quarry Visitor Center in Dinosaur National Monument
Steggie II at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Life-sized fiberglass models of dinosaurs created by Jonas Studios for the 1964 New York World's Fair are on display at:

A Jonas Studios sculpture of a stegosaurus, "Steggie II", is located in front of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.[18][19] Another copy, known as "Wally", is located at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[20] Still another is on display at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta.

Children playing on the Uncle Beazley sculpture on the National Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History between 1980 and 1994

References
  1. "Louis Paul Jonas". National Museum of Wildlife Art. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  2. "Jonas' Wildlife Sculpture in Big Demand". Schenectady Gazette. October 3, 1983. p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  3. Elliot McCreary (October 1960). Louis Paul Jonas: He Makes Them Look Alive. The Rotarian. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  4. The World of Louis Paul Jonas. Life Magazine. March 23, 1942. p. 86. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  5. "Dinosaur Fever – Sinclair's Icon". Petroleum History Almanac. Washington, D.C.: American Oil & Gas Historical Society. 2016. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  6. "Sinclair Dinoland: New York World's Fair 1964–65". Science Leads the Way. Frank J. Leskovitz. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  7. "Ankylosaurus at HMNS: 40 Year Mystery Solved". Houston Museum of Natural Science. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  8. "Sinclair's New York World's Fair (1964–65) "Dinoland" Pavilion". Sinclair History. Sinclair Oil Corporation. 2013. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  9. "Sinclair at the New York World's Fair". 1960s. Sinclair Oil Corporationl. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  10. "Phar Lap at the Museum". Museum Victoria Australia. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  11. "Phar Lap and Louis Paul Jonas!". Taxidermy.net. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  12. "Exhibitions: The Art of Louis Paul Jonas". Smithosnian: National Museum of Natural History. July 2 – August 28, 1983. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  13. "Park History". Dinosaur Valley State Park. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  14. "Visitor Centers". Dinosaur National Monument. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  15. Dr. Merkwürdigliebe. "Struthiomimus". Flicker. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  16. "Trachodon at Brookfield Zoo – Brookfield, IL". Waymarking. March 16, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  17. (1) "A Dinosaur at the Zoo". Art at the National Zoo. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
    (2) "Uncle Beazley". Histories of the National Mall. Fairfax, Virginia: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016. For a slow-moving dinosaur, Uncle Beazley is widely traveled. Before coming to the Mall in the 1970s, his home was the Smithsonian's Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. In 1994, Uncle Beazley moved from the Mall to his current residence, the National Zoo.
  18. Wendy Wasman (March 2, 2016). "Cleveland's Iconic Stegosaurus Prepares for Spring Break". Cleveland Museum of Natural HIstory. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  19. "Steggie II". Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Inventory. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  20. "Who's Wally?". Berkshire Museum. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
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