When I found myself employed by the American Museum of Natural History back in 1995, I knew it was not merely a job but a life-changing event. I could never have guessed, however, how profound it would be. I had been visiting the AMNH since I was very young, and though it was dinosaurs that drew me there in the first place, I became increasingly captivated by the dioramas. What magic they were! Being an imaginative boy, I could easily suspend belief and find myself transported halfway around the world, closer to wild animals than I would ever dare to be, but with a slight mental twist I could see through the illusion, and yet still be mesmerized, this time by the artistry. The amount of work involved, the attention to meticulous detail and devotion to naturalism! That both science and art could be served equally- this was a revelation and inspiration to me. But to actually work there and take part in that work- I never would have imagined that, even in my wildest ten-year old dreams.
Those creators seemed to me like a mysterious vanished race, of giants or gods, remote in time and effectively anonymous. But when I stepped into those hallowed halls as an employee, I realized that there was a direct and unsevered chain between the artists and naturalists of the past and those of today. The names of those artists, their personalities and stories, both dramatic and comical, were still remembered, and the skills they developed were still in use. (Thanks to Steve Quinns books "Windows on Nature", many of those names and stories are now public.) Joining that chain has been my greatest personal achievement. And the most significant and precious link in that chain was Fred Scherer. Fred had retired many years before I started, but I met him during his last visit to the museum, around 1997, and have visited him at his home several times in the years since.
White-tailed Deer diorama, AMNH, background by Fred Scherer, 1940
At 97, Fred is one of the last artists from the generation that created the beloved diorama halls at the AMNH. He had worked at the AMNH between 1934 and 1973, joining just as the AMNH was beginning its most ambitious period of diorama creation. His first tasks were making foreground plants for the iconic Gorilla diorama in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals. Eventually he became the painting assistant to James Perry Wilson, widely regarded as the greatest of the diorama painters. It was a short step from there to doing his own backgrounds, and indeed some of my favorites are his.
When diorama work slowed down after the 1950's, he worked for a time in the Anthropology department, restoring artifacts. Indeed, Fred is a true rennaissance man, a self-reliant problem-solver and inventor (perhaps due to coming of age during the Great Depression), even to the present day. On my last visit to him this past summer, he showed me a "clapping machine" he had built, a wooden device to allow him to applaud with the small movements of one hand. That same spirit of practical experimentation has always been a part of his art- and though he gives full credit to James Perry Wilson for his artistic education, Fred is no mere imitator. One can detect the influence of some of the other diorama artists, such as William R. Leigh and Francis Lee Jaques, but his approach to painting has always been distinct, and never rigidly fixed to a certain formula.
Golden Eagle Diorama, AMNH, background reworked by Fred Scherer, circa 1964
Even before I knew him or any of the artists names who painted the backgrounds of the AMNH dioramas, Fred's work stood out- and frankly, as an art student, intrigued me the most. His approach was more influenced by impressionism than most of his peers, and his experimentation often involved "broken color", using flecks of bright colors in close proximity to blend visually at a distance, using the vibration this creates in the eye to evoke bright light or complex textures. His handling of the reflected lights in the shadow of this cliff behind the Golden Eagle captivated my young imagination, and still amazes me today. Photographs can't do dioramas justice, but here is a close-up:
That wild interplay of orange and gray spots in the shadows, set against the opaque colors in the lights, is classic Scherer. At times the technique he used came close to the pointillism of artists such as Seurat, but Fred was no one-trick pony; he often juxtaposed areas of "broken color" with areas of flat, unmodulated color, sometimes applied in thick brush or knife strokes. For the purposes of museum work he had to keep such wild stylistic experiments in check, but no such limitations apply to his easel paintings, which have often taken such ideas to an extreme.
"Meditation" oil, 12x16, Fred Scherer
"Autumn Quarry" oil, Fred Scherer
But his mentorship under James Perry Wilson kept Fred firmly rooted in accurate observation from nature, anchored in the tradition of plein-air painting. Though they did not call it "plein air", both men made a regular practice of getting out on weekends to paint, and even during weekday lunch-hours they would often walk through Central Park, observing the play of light on various surfaces and analyzing their effects.
Painting in the field was not only a weekend past-time; it was a critical stage in creating a lifelike diorama, and Fred had his opportunity to travel and paint in far-flung locations.
St Lawrence River, Quebec, AMNH Library negative #330050
This photograph shows Fred painting the study for the Snow Goose group shown below- one of six unique groups added to the Birds of North America Hall in the early 1960's. These were not dioramas in the strict sense, but were shallow cases with a slab of foreground and a flat mural, more for "setting the scene" than for creating an immersive illusion.
Snow Goose Mural, AMNH, by Fred Scherer, circa 1964
Fred enjoys telling a story from a trip to Churchill, Canada, near Hudson Bay. Painting alone on the tundra, his concentration was interrupted by a sense of being watched, and turning around, he saw a pack of dogs sneaking up on him. These were hunters dogs, who for that part of the year were left to fend for themselves and returned to a basically feral state. Instinctively, Fred slowly crouched, then sprang up suddenly, shouting and waving his brushes and palette. The dogs promptly fled, and Fred went back to his painting.
Tundra Diorama, AMNH, background by Fred Scherer with birds by Francis Lee Jaques
In 1973, Fred and his wife Cicely retired to coastal Maine. It was here that I first visited him in 1998. It was an inspiring location and many of Fred's paintings depict the coastal landscape of his home. His property bordered a picturesque cove and the erratic boulder perched on a low promontory was a motif of many paintings, done in all seasons.
"Winter Rock" oil, Fred Scherer
"Side Yard Tree", oil, 12x16, Fred Scherer
Fred and Cicely now live in Vermont, where they are closer to Fred's daughter Deidre, a well-known fabric artist. He is still painting, and still experimenting, finding no lack of inspiration in the light and landscapes he has been observing and painting for eighty years. This past March 1st was his 97th birthday. This homage is a belated present, a small gift for a friend and mentor who has given so much and deserves to be better known. Happy Birthday, Fred!
Fred Scherer, painting with his grand-daughters in August, 2011. Courtesy Deidre Scherer
Many thanks to Mike Anderson, Joyce Cloughly, Steve Quinn, Deidre Scherer, and the AMNH Library for permission to use images from their collections.
