Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874 - 1927) American Watercolor on Paper Measure 21 3/4"in H x 16 1/4"in W and 29"in H x 23"in W with frame Known for: Birds, landscape, illustrator, mural Named for the naturalist and Harvard University professor, Louis Agassiz, Louis Agassiz Fuertes had an interest in nature from childhood when he was inspired by John James Audubon's book, Birds of America. Reportedly he had an amazing ability to remember what he observed, and then transfer that information to paper. He was born in Ithaca, New York, made his first painting of a bird at age fourteen, and received his education in the College of Architecture at Cornell University. However, encouraged for his illustration talents by Elliot Coues, a prominent bird illustrator, he avoided parental pressure to become an engineer, took art instruction from Abbot Thayer, whom he first met at Harvard when Fuertes joined the Ornithologists Union. Like other members of that group, he developed the artistic goal of depicting live birds with authenticity. In fact, he often visited the Thayer family in Dublin, New Hampshire and took many sketching field trips with them. He also visited and was influenced by George De Forest Brush and his family in Dublin. DeBrush's daughter, recalled Fuertes as "a most lovable personality. . . .full of high spirits and fun." (Behrens, 148). However, Fuertes and Thayer eventually had a falling out because Thayer, who had done much camouflage painting, insisted that birds should be portrayed in natural settings, often partially hidden by plants, trees, etc. and not easily seen. Fuertes focus was the bird itself with little distraction, and Thayer regarded this approach as a betrayal of his teachings. Fuertes and his wife died at age 53 when he and his wife, returning home from a trip where he was consulting with Frank Chapman and was bringing a collection of his watercolor paintings from an Ethiopian expedition of 1926-1927. He and his wife were struck by a train at a railroad crossing. Fuertes died; his wife was seriously injured; but the paintings survived intact, and they were later purchased from Mrs. Fuertes by C Suydam Cutting.