Article ID: CBB000771957

Creating the Proavis: Bird Origins in the Art and Science of Gerhard Heilmann 1913--1926 (2007)

unapi

Between 1912 and 1916, the Danish artist and graphic designer Gerhard Heilmann published a series of articles in the journal of the Danish Ornithological Society. From the outset, Heilmann's work aroused international interest, and in 1926 it was published in English under the title The origin of birds, setting the international agenda for research in bird evolution for the next 40 years. In Denmark, however, Heilmann's highly original work was generally ignored or even ridiculed by zoologists. This paper presents an account of those factors and events that allowed Heilmann to complete the transformation from absolute amateur to international authority on the intricate issue of bird evolution and bird-dinosaur relationships. It demonstrates how Heilmann's artistic abilities played an important role in securing him international renown as a palaeontologist, while at the same time his lack of scientific credentials led to his complete isolation from the Danish zoological establishment. More particularly, Heilmann's work is shown to have developed alongside and in connection to another classic work: On growth and form (1917) by the Scottish zoologist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson.

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Description Explores Heilmann's work in the context of his status as an international authority on bird evolution and bird-dinosaur relationships outside of Denmark and his status as a rank amateur by Danish scientists.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000771957/

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Authors & Contributors
Karl Schulze-Hagen
McGregor, Russell
Bruno M. Goddeeris
Boudewijn R. Goddeeris
Montgomerie, Robert D.
Anderson, Ted R
Concepts
Ornithology
Birds
Natural history
Scientific communities; interprofessional relations
Amateurs
Paleontology
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
20th century
20th century, late
Places
Germany
Madagascar
Prussia (Germany)
Scotland
United States
New Zealand
Institutions
American Ornithological Society
Sanssouci Park (Potsdam)
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