Paleoart: Painting the Land Before Time

The Field Museum has a long history of hiring artists to help teach people about the dinosaurs and other early life on earth. Maybe you've heard of the famous painter Charles R. Knight - but what about John Conrad Hansen, or Maidi Wiebe? After months of research- here are their stories!
↓↓↓
Did Tyrannosaurus rex have feathers? Perhaps not. “Tyrannosaurid integument reveals conflicting patterns of gigantism and feather evolution,” Bell et. al (2017): bit.ly/2r0SqJ5
Famed T. rex SUE getting a makeover at Field Museum in Chicago: reut.rs/2Jn8nkn
Move over, SUE: World’s largest dinosaur taking center stage at Field Museum (Chicago Tribune): trib.in/2CMB8Vu
SUE’s views on their move: bit.ly/2qUK05U
‘The Glorious Journey of Gorgeous George,’ by Ben Miller (extinctmonsters.net) bit.ly/2HZmq00
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Special thanks to:
Field Museum’s Bill Simpson, Pete Makovicky, Adrienne Stroup, Gretchen Rings, Armand Esai, Nina Cummings
Studio252mya’s artist Franz Anthony (252mya.com)
Barbara Wester,
Paul Brinkman at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences,
Jennifer Kovarik at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
Shoutout to twitter user @12tonevideos for the episode title. :)
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Help support our videos! bit.ly/1TjMRAo
Under 'Designation,' put 'The Brain Scoop' - all proceeds go exclusively towards helping the show. We appreciate whatever you can give!
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Producer, Writer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie
Producer, Camera, Graphics, Director:
Sheheryar Ahsan
Producer, Camera
Brandon Brungard
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This episode is filmed at and supported by The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.
www.fieldmuseum.org
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[@MinuteEarth]

Every brainscoop should end with Emily giving a dramatic reading of a natural history poem.

[@JoannaVolavka]

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[@thestemfam9311]

Could that be TOO fitting?

[@thebrainscoop]

I started doing research for this video 8 months ago- more than a dozen people helped me put the pieces together to make this video happen. So, I really hope you like it, and make sure you turn on that lil' bell to get video notifications! It helps us out a lot.

[@piperisle9674]

The time and dedication you put into these videos is inspiring! Thanks for everything you do

[@rand0m508]

Well that was the first dramatic reading of a poem I ever saw that wasn't incredibly awkward! And I thought it was going to be satirical! Kinda cute that the guy was so excited about the skeleton :3

[@CrankyPantss]

thebrainscoop The incredible amount of research that you did for this video was apparent. The stories about the lives of the artists make their works even more special. I enjoyed your videos while you were in Montana, but the work that you've been able to do and way your life has changed since that first, (fateful?), visit to the Field Museum has been a real joy to watch unfold. We are very lucky to be able to benefit from your never-ending curiosity and your willingness to share the results of what you learn with us.

[@trexfellow]

In 1966, when I was just 13 years old, I first encountered Knight's "T-Rex versus Triceratops" mural. It thrilled me for its realism. 37 years later I produced a painting of a Tyrannosaurus that was blown up into a life-size mural to accompany the Field Museum's traveling exhibit of "A T-rex Named Sue" at the Florida Museum of Natural History. A childhood dream come true!

[@Appleblade]

That's awesome... I spent hours looking at Knight's T-Rex art in the World Book Encyclopedia my mother bought for home back in the late 60s. I thought it was a photograph for the longest time, lol. Do you have a link to view your mural?

[@PoisonTheOgres]

Wow that's a big change to my mental image of a T-rex. It's so cute

[@rand0m508]

Right? But it also makes me imagine that it could swallow prey whole like a snake :D

[@Roanoak]

lol "Awwww cute... OMG IT'S EATING ME!!!"

[@BarelloSmith]

And it's also wrong, since it has feathers on places we now it had scales.

[@alexandrugavriloaia6531]

T. rex* ;)

[@francesroth4331]

Thank you for this! People never seem to understand the importance of art in science. As you stated, those depictions are some of the best ways scientists can communicate their most recent findings to the public. Our mediums to share that information is growing, but the work of both sides is so important!

[@NewMessage]

Artists are the ones who first light the fire of curiosity in us as kids, and get nowhere near the respect they deserve.. especially in the Americas where art is treated as a commodity. Good on ya for this vid.. As an artist who was inspired as a child by illustrations is nature books, thank you for going well out of your way to give a little credit to the folk who dedicated their lives to spreading wonder and inspiration to the rest of us. The world is a much better place for their efforts.

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

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[@aulddragon]

They may be technically out of date, but the life given to these creatures in paleoart is so important. Good art is good art, regardless of how our interpretation of the paleontological data has changed. Thanks for sharing the stories of these artists, and showcasing some of their pieces!

[@kriscu16]

SUE IS GETTING THICC

[@MarySanche]

I love this video! I have such admiration for Maidi Wiebe now. I've just been hired as a designer and illustrator for the Royal Tyrrell Museum here in Canada, and I'm really honoured to be a part of the continuing paleoart narrative (and to go to work in a building full of gorgosaurs!)

[@anatotitan]

Dang, congrats!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

I love the tyrell youtubes and lectures

[@ShubhamBhushanCC]

That poem made me cry.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

It made me cry in cringing paaiiiinnn....

[@brothercelery]

Psst. Emily. Put in good word to the Field that they should do an exhibit on the artists who have worked at the museum, and other great artists who have contributed to science and research around the world. I'd love for these individuals to have their time in the spotlight.

[@thebrainscoop]

I completely agree. :)

[@bba219]

"Gorgasaur is self supporting" t shirt please

[@TickTockTimeTraveler]

Thanks so much for doing a whole episode (and a ton of research!) devoted to paleoart and the fascinating artists behind them. I'm a painter focused on natural subjects, and murals in museums were one of the first examples of art that really connected with me! I love your videos--thank you for sharing these stories.

[@ironsnowflake1076]

I am so grateful to the talented men and women who bring the past to life through their artistry....the next best thing to being there to see it in person (if only we could)....

[@victoriacwintal4863]

this is by far the best video i watched this week. It brought me immense joy, thank you Emily!

[@KyleCulver]

Wow, wow, wow! Absolutely *loved* this episode! As an artist myself, this was a fascinating look into some history involving The Field Museum and art. Thanks for doing so much research Emily! I appreciate the crap out of that! :D

[@owencardona5185]

Thanks! This was such an interesting watch. I would've just attributed the hazeyness of Charles' paintings to bad maintainence, and thw fact that it was on purpose is pretty cool

[@Gwyd13]

I had a book about paleontology when I was 5 that featured paintings by Knight that inspired me to pursue a career in the sciences (I ended up becoming a mathematician). I love knowing the back story behind those paintings now. Thank you!

[@mikew1332]

The Field Museum I remember is from the early 70's. I'm sure a lot of these artists' works were still on display then. I really enjoyed learning about them. It's an important story and also part of my own history so thank you very much, Emily!

[@jlpjlp1953]

Emily is a wonderful speaker, with a near-perfect balance of clarity, enthusiasm, and vocal modulation. I really appreciate great story-tellers!

[@waynedombrowski7568]

Being Human and a Scientist is one of the hardest jobs around.Bravo,Emily!

[@tzarl]

I loved hearing about these artists! I especially enjoyed how you noted that even though these pieces don't necessarily reflect our modern understanding, they still serve as historical documents of sorts, chronicling our history of learning about these creatures!

[@kathrynharris1246]

Thanks for researching Maidi's life! I was intrigued by the case on the third floor. Nina Cummings told me that Maidi worked in the Museum store much later in her life and that she left the Museum when she got married.

[@Danny_Boel]

6:50 thanks Emily, that was beautiful!

[@requiembeeblebroxx]

That poem was both funnier and more moving than I expected it to be. I love it.

[@blakecomedyproductions]

Knights work was just so charming and almost nostalgic it’s amazing on how huge they are it’s funny that in a room full of dinosaurs I’m just as fascinated at the murals on the walls

[@heavantedder1395]

This is so cool! What a great video!

[@zalander6912]

Sue the T-rex will always have a special place in my heart, I got to see her when I was a little kid and she was on loan in Phoenix. I don't think video can get across just how huge it is!

[@latestranger]

That poem FAR exceeded my expectations!!! Good job Eugene!!

[@Bookworm3497]

Thank you so much! I really love when the brainscoop and scishow look specifically at scientific illustrators or paleoartists, since I hope to pursue a similar career. Each artist I learn about informs my own work and goals. These people are my heroes, and it means a lot that they're getting some attention. I especially get excited hearing about Charles R. Knight, since I've seen some of his work at the Florida Natural History Museum - there's a little gallery dedicated to his paintings, and it's a pleasure to go through.

[@loiscarlisle6035]

I! Love! This! Learning about the processes that go into making museums is fascinating to me. It would be really, really cool to hear from other folks around the Field (like the registrar or whomever writes exhibit text). Absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing your hard work with us, Emily.

[@my.language.adventure]

I appreciate so much your thorough investigation of the unknown artists, it is amazing to learn about people in history that not many know about. Thank you Emily for this super informative and excellent video. You're super awesome!

[@CrankyPantss]

Great video, Emily. Thanks for sharing all of that very interesting information with us. Your dramatic reading of that poem was really fun, too.

[@4jonah]

My favorite vids on this channel are the ones about the models, dioramas, paintings, and other visualizations

[@DuckettMMC]

Maybe this sounds stupid, but I have a tattoo based on Charles Knight's T-rex vs triceratops. Except the dinosaurs are the mold-o-rama versions. The second stage will be to get the watercolor background similar to the mural put around the dinos. It's all field museum inspired. I don't get to see it often, but the dinosaurs and field museum are my favorite things from childhood. Makes me so happy.

[@Tim51564]

10/10 dramatic reading, great content as always!

[@thescrumpus]

Things like this really make me wish I could afford to go to museums and the like. Thank you for bringing information and overall scientific experience to those who are unable to go and see it for themselves. Your videos always keep my interest.

[@TommoCarroll]

Yes! So glad you mentioned that about the TRex and Stegosaurus living so far apart! Isn't the TRex closer to us than it is to the Stegosaurus in terms of existence on this little planet!?

[@geniusmp2001]

T. rex is closer to modern sparrows than it is to Stegosaurus, whether you're measuring by separation in time, phylogenetic distance, or physical similarity.

[@Serpidude]

I don't know if they present the T-Rex as a T-Rex in the Fantasia scene, but they drew it with three fingers instead of two, like an Allosaurus. Which did live at the same time as the Stegosaurus. I love the fact that T-Rex is closer to us in time than it is to Stegosaurus, but it's also amazing that the similar body shape of T-Rex and Allosaurus endured for the timespan between them, and probably well before Allosaurus.

[@CatherineLu]

this was an amazing video. thanks for finding information on all these fabulous, important artists.

[@tori8423]

Such a great video; the amount of effort you put in shows!! It was really great to learn about all those talented artists and the interesting lives they led.

[@emctvedt]

Absolutely fantastic episode. I've loved the work of Charles R. Knight for a long time, and it was so cool to learn about these other artists I'd never heard of, but whose work I'd also seen and enjoyed. (that dunkleosteus though!!)

[@smOVERCOMINGITALL]

LOL the new way the t-rex looks makes them way more cute... no just me?

[@matthijndijkstra25]

Anymore of these videos, and I feel compelled to travel halfway across the world to visit the museum! 😄

[@billyc9151]

Cooool, I painted a mural in the school I graduated from (1986) that depicted a dinosaur/Jurassic scene superimposed over a cityscape. I had a lot of fun painting that, and the kids loved it...now lost to the ages.

[@rnbnatl]

Might be my fav video ! Thanks for making !

[@sheren_b]

Thank you for this, I'm a big fan of going to the Field and I honestly never thought about who and how artists depict the imagined world. Next time I go I'll make sure to pay extra close attention to the artwork around the fossils! ☺️

[@frankie051789]

That poem is excellent! Great reading, Emily!

[@bethanygeiger856]

This video is amazing and fascinating. As an animal lover, biology major and library worker this was the best of all my worlds! Yay paleo art and yay interlibrary loan!

[@ihh2921]

Really enjoyed this video. I only knew Charles R. Knight so getting to know the two others were a joy. Keep up the good work ;)

[@RachelAnn]

It's been a while since I've watched a Brain Scoop episode all the way to the very end for the "It still have brains on it" moment. Worth it, and this video in particular is wonderfully done. Thank you for this insight.

[@deltadromeus5053]

This was a great video! Knight's work is beautiful! I enjoy Zdenek Burian's paintings as well.

[@vladimirlagos2688]

The Field Museum tops my wish list of places to visit in the US. In my travels to that country I have been able to cross out several other items, but never the one at the very top. Someday, I will go to Chicago and get a chance to view Charles Knight's awesome work. And thanks to this video I have even more awesome artists whose paleo art I now want to view as well.

[@andrewbolton1732]

I never knew that about Knight's blindness, It's amazing that he managed to add so much detail to his work, I've always loved his T. rex vs. Triceratops painting. Great video!

[@trexfellow]

BTW Emily, Fantastic video! Great job. Interesting, informative and very well presented. Keep up the good work!

[@DuluthTW]

I was hoping you'd recite the poem. Great episode. Very informative yet entertaining and enlightening. Thanks!

[@willrun4fun]

Another great episode. Love the art!

[@WilliamLeeSims]

This was an excellent topic and episode!

[@sawace1]

Amazing reading of the poem! Great video!

[@KingsleyIII]

This video's thumbnail looks like it could be on an Eons video.

[@uniformgrey]

Amazing episode and the poem was awesome!

[@BeccaMoses]

i forgot how much i love this channel

[@huitzilinf_art]

Awesome informative video! I appreciate the amount of research and consideration of the forerunners!

[@CaptainPIanet]

This is really, really, cool. This was such a great idea and video!

[@dsdcool]

i was also quite curious about that, thank you for doing this.

[@rachelneff5837]

Wow, incredible information!! Amazing video

[@militrization]

great as always!

[@gartengeflugel924]

This was such a beautiful episode! I tried myself in drawing prehistoric life and people seem to enjoy it way more than me just telling them about it.

[@CounterFleche]

Excellent video--very informative and interesting!

[@SimplyMayaBeauty]

What a wonderful video, thank you!

[@sin-8]

Awesome video! I missed this channel!

[@JoaoPessoa86]

That is a pretty goofy looking T-Rex

[@JanCRefsgaard]

sometimes truth is stranger than fiction ;)

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Imagine if several million years from now in a world were mammals are either extinct or derived beyond recongition a sapient race discovers the fossils of humans. I can guarentee you that at least at first their reconstructions would look nothing like actualy humans do the same can be said of any large mammal (enter elephants and their cyclops skull).

[@andrewsuryali8540]

If they can find fossils of us, they will also find enough "fossils" of our monumental statues or our small replicas of ourselves. Wait... on second thought.... I'm imagining a future archaeologist digging up what used to be Akihabara Japan and getting the idea that our skulls' huge eye sockets must have lacked covering of any sort. Or finding a Barbie doll and deciding that our digestive system must have been horribly compact.

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Look at the state of the Great Sphinx of Giza and other monuments of anitiquity. Erosion, corrosion, sysmic activity and biologic activity will make most human made monuments featureless/irrecognizable within a few thousands of years. They will be very little of their original form by the time they become buried under sediments (a process that will take at best roughly one million years), and once their covered in sediments it will be a few millions of years or even less before tectonic movement and pressure turns most of those structures into a compact uniform geological layer... There's a reason why there was a recent paper that evaluated whether or not we would be able to found evidence of previous pre-human sapient societies, the study came to the conclusion that founding actual physical evidence beyond a few million years of singular objects would be almost impossible, they instead focus their attention on stratigraphy and changes on the isotopic counts of materials through time. arxiv.org/abs/1804.03748 And that is assuming that said intelligent life would opperate in the same principles as our society and produce the same kind of ecological footprint. Likewise there's no guarantee an speculative future sapinet lifeform would be able to easily interpret the Anthropocene layers as caused by the activity of a sapient species.

[@CrankyPantss]

Andrew Suryali If they did find Barbie and Ken dolls, they would spend forever trying to figure out how they reproduced with no genitalia.

[@ashknoecklein]

What a wonderful topic!

[@henrymartin4413]

As thoroughly educational as entertaining, that you.

[@ericweis9771]

Wow great stories! Thanks.

[@horizon241]

I watch a emotionally wrenching film and my eyes remain dry. I listen to a poem about free-standing dinos and I'm bawling!

[@patrickmccurry1563]

For some reason, that new image of T-Rex reminds me of a Kakapo, an endangered flightless parrot.

[@Papoompala]

Yes! I want to be a paleontologist when I’m older, and this is an amazing covering of a field that gets almost no recognition, also lovely T. rex.

[@Albinojackrussel]

This is such a great video. If people want to learn more I believe PBS eons has a video about general trends in paleoart and the book all the yesterday's takes commonly know dinosaurs and reimagines. It talks about issues in the paleoart world, and why it's difficult to reconstruct extinct beingd, and in the final few pages it reimagines modern animals while pointing out these problems.

[@AstronomyGuru84]

This is an awesome channel! Love the content.

[@cometmace]

OMG. A book cover for Dr. Dan Q. Posin. I remember him, and Minerva, from WTTW broadcasts when I was a child. I always associated him with the University of Chicago, but the book cover shows DePaul University. Lesson to all -- don't blink when watching thebrainscoop or you'll might miss a gem!

[@thebrainscoop]

Yeah, part of what made this video take so long was learning so many gems of information and not knowing what to exclude! I still haven't figured out how Maidi Wiebe ended up illustrating a book for Daniel Posin (physicist, TV host, and a six-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, buddies with Albert Einstein.)

[@Poppacap79]

The remodeling of the T-Rex looks delicious.

[@walkerweyland7685]

Great episode!

[@SteveAbrahall]

That's a good one! Poem at the end whoooo! :-)

[@Whocares.........]

Thanks for that, well done!

[@AdahliaBiPunk]

Missed videos on this channel. I know you have the podcasts but its not the same to see your face and what you're talking about. I hope this channel becomes more regular in updating cuz its honestly one of my favs.

[@thebrainscoop]

xxohmycaptainxx Did you miss our videos from Germany?

[@AdahliaBiPunk]

thebrainscoop I saw them. It's just your schedule used to be more set it seemed. Would love to see a new video from you guys weekly, hell or even bi-weekly but that doesn't look to be the direction the channel is going. Regardless I love the content and I'll continue to support you Emilie, and The Brain Scoop :)

[@cupboardgods]

Man, talk about a dream job! I would love to create paintings/sculptures for a museum.

[@yellowflowerorangeflower5706]

I think that's my favorite poem ever

[@ThatBookishWriter]

A poem related to science? I love it!

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Gotta love how Gorgeous George original mount had it's gastralia and furcula articulated in almost the same position as Sue's new mount. Tyrannosaurids were THICC.

[@beckybercegeayconnor6135]

Great video!

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

I stayed for the reading of the gorgasaurus (sp?) poem and was not disappointed!

[@denisethasder8193]

Really fascinating

[@adriannegandhi2029]

Just gotta say...some time ago u had recommended reading "The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge" by Jamie James and I just now finished it and LOVED it! Thanks for that. :)

[@rmcbeigh]

awesome video!!!!

[@Mussoi7000]

paleoart is great because regardless if it's outdated and incorrect or if it's correct and scientifically accurate it still looks sick

[@thescientificmusician3531]

Wow! Fantasia was my first exposure to dinosaurs when I was a kid and science geek in the 70s! I didn't know the t-rex couldn't eat the stegosaur.

[@ninasoler6070]

LOVE this video

[@frankyboy4409]

The more we update T-Rexes the more ridiculous they look. PS: also the stitching on your dress is awesome (yes I know that is 100% random).

[@duckpondwithoutducks]

Fascinating!

[@miguelschoedel7691]

Amazing video