George Petersen and James Perry Wilson on location in Wyoming.

James Perry Wilson's great artistic skill and feeling are evident in many of the diorama backgrounds in the Hall of North American Mammals, including the majestic view of the Wyoming plains depicted in the Bison and Pronghorn Group. Wilson's views, whether of field, forest, or mountaintop, beautifully convey both the details and character of each scene and fuse imperceptibly with the scene's foreground. Each diorama represents a specific location, carefully selected in the field and faithfully depicted in the foreground exhibits and the background paintings.

	VIDEO: Preparing a Museum Group This video, narrated by Ray de Lucia, features archival footage of Wilson working on the Fisher and Porcupine diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals. You will need to have the Real Player installed on your computer to view this video. (Transcript) PLAY >  •  High Bandwidth Version >

Painting a diorama background poses a technical problem, as the background wall is usually curved in order to make room for foreground objects and to create a feeling of depth in the view. This means that the artist must adjust his or her technique to meet the demands of this unusual canvas.

To do so, Wilson would first draw a grid on the wall and then fine-tune it to the wall's curvature so that it matched a similar grid on a photo of the location. Using this grid for guidance, Wilson could precisely scale and reproduce all of the elements in the scene. The next step was to draw a charcoal sketch of the background scene over the basic grid which would serve as a guide for the painting process.

	AUDIO: James Perry Wilson Hear Steve Quinn give an insider's view on James Perry Wilson's artistic background, painting technique, and his contributions to the art of the habitat group diorama. You will need to have the Real Player installed on your computer to hear this audio file. PLAY >