Art of National Geographic A Century of Illustration

"Carter, a professor of art and design at San Jose State University, breaks down this hundred years' survey into sensible categories: paleontology and anthropology, exploration and discovery, natural history, conflict and chaos ('decisive historical moments'), the universe and world cultures. Though the historical recreations are impressive (and, with the likes of N.C. Wyeth contributing, often achieve high artistic standards), the loveliest illustrations, for my money, turn up in the natural history section. Barron Storey's rendering of 'Layers of Life in the African Rain Forest,' for a January 1983 story, crawls with parrots and monkeys and bird-size beetles and butterflies; while Mary E. Eaton's richly colored botanical watercolors, painted in the teens and '20s, have an Audubonesque precision and grace to them.Carter, Alice A. is the author of 'Art of National Geographic A Century of Illustration' with ISBN 9780792279204 and ISBN 0792279204.