Francis Lee Jaques (September 28, 1887 - July 24, 1969) was an American wildlife painter. Jaques hunted and trapped with his father and connected with editors and writers from major hunting magazines. While still a teenager, Jacques paid ten dollars to buy a

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

shop in

Aitkin, Minnesota Aitkin ( ) is a city in Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,168 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Aitkin County. History Before the establishment of City of Aitkin, a transient community of Lexington was lo ...

. He toughed out a few winters scarcely earning enough money to survive and bartering paintings to pay for services. He alternated railroad work in northern Minnesota and taxidermy in Aitkin to make ends meet. In 1918, Jaques was drafted into the army. During his six-month stay in St. Emilione, France, he recorded his surroundings in several small pencil drawings and watercolor paintings. He came home with a rank of Private First Class and returned to

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. There he met Clarence C. Rosenkranz, an artist of the impressionist style, who helped him mix color and express his feelings through art. In 1924, Jaques sent some of his paintings to the American Museum of Natural History in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. His talent was recognized, and he was invited to join the museum's team as a background painter. The team traveled around the world gathering exhibit specimens. Jaques recorded his experiences throughout. Jaques was almost 40 years old when he met Florence Page, a friend of his landlord. She was a budding writer just out of a prestigious school in the East, but was originally from Decatur, Illinois. Jaques and Florence found common ground in nature and developed a friendship. They were married in 1927. Francis and Florence Page Jaques spent time camping in the

Boundary Waters Canoe Area The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in the northeastern part of the US state of Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. A mixture of forests, ...

of Minnesota. The time provided inspiration for their now-famous books, ''Snowshoe Country'' and ''Canoe Country''. Sales from these two books helped fund the Jaqueses' involvement in the conservation project at Susie Island in Lake Superior. The conservation area was later named The

Francis Lee Jaques Memorial Preserve Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

in his honor. The Jaqueses lived in

for over 25 years before returning to Minnesota to work at the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History on the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

campus. Jaques worked designing and painting diorama backgrounds until his retirement. The Jaqueses' final years were spent living in North Oaks, a few miles north of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. Jaques painted daily and created a mountainous body of work. Upon his death Florence completed and arranged for publication of his biography, '' Francis Lee Jaques: Artist of the Wilderness World''. She donated his remaining art works to the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis and to the Saint Louis County Historical Society, Duluth, Minnesota. Frances Lee Jaques died July 24, 1969, at the age of 81. His wife, Florence Page Jaques, died January 1, 1972, at 82 years of age.

Partial bibliography

Books by Florence Page Jaques - Illustrated by Francis Lee Jaques * Canoe Country - 1938 - The

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its boo ...

* The Geese Fly High - The University of Minnesota Press * Birds Across The Sky - The University of Minnesota Press * Snowshoe Country - 1944 - University of Minnesota Press (Awarded 1946 John Burroughs Medal) * Canadian Spring - 1947 - Harper & Brothers * As Far As The Yukon - 1951 - Harper & Brothers

References

External links

Francis Lee Jaques: Master Artist of the Wild

Jaques Art Center
includes brief biography

American Museum of Natural History
��Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, information on murals by Francis Lee Jaques {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaques, Francis Lee 1887 births 1969 deaths American naturalists American bird artists 20th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century naturalists 20th-century American male artists

Partial bibliography

See also

References

External links