Provenance

Acquired from the artist and thence by descent to the current owner.

Notes

Zdenek Burian was a Czech painter, book illustrator, and palaeoartist whose work significantly advanced palaeontological reconstruction. Widely regarded as one of the most influential palaeoartists, he began his career in the 1920s, gaining fame for his novel illustrations in Czechoslovakia. A pivotal moment came with his artwork for Eduard Štorch’s The Mammoth Hunters (1937), leading to a fruitful collaboration with palaeontologist, Josef Augusta. Although the exact number of his paintings is unclear, it is suggested that he created between 1,000 and 20,000 works, with around 500 to 800 dedicated to prehistoric reconstructions.