For my Digital Design in Communication class, I was tasked with creating a potential book jacket for "Arthur Singer - The Wildlife Art of an American Master" by Alan and Paul Singer. This book jacket design includes a summary, About the Authors, and original artwork from Arthur Singer. (Part 1 of 2) (Fall 2017)

1. About the Authors
Paul Singer is a graduate of the Philadel-
phia College of Art (1968) witha BFA in
graphic design. Interested in nature and
the outdoors, he has focused on designs
for zoos, museums, and botanic gardens.
He has also worked as an interpreive sign
designer for the National Park Service, state
park systems, and greenways in California,
Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and
Vermont. His illustrations are included are
included in the Knopf Nature Guide series
for Audubon, The Audubon Master Guides
to Birding, The Knopf Collector Guide to
American Antiques and other publications.
In his leisure time, he paints seascapes,
studies history, and collects antiques. Paul
an his wife, Janet, reside in Brooklyn, NY.
ARTHUR SINGERTHE WILDLIFE ART OF AN AMERICAN MASTER
BY
ALAN SINGER AND PAUL SINGER
ALAN
SINGER
&
PAUL
SINGER
ARTHURSINGERTHEWILDLIFEARTOFANAMERICANMASTER
The idea of painting all species of North American birds began with John James Audubon
in the early 1800s. Other wildlife artists soon followed, embracing his passion and focus.
Arthur B. Singer was among on of those artists who perfected the painting skills and
technique required to capture, not only the essence of his subjects, but give his art aesthetic
appeal based on scientific observation.
Influenced by Rungius, Fuertes, and Kuhnert, Singer’s fascination with drawing and
painting began when he was a young teenager. In this first biography, Arthur Singer, The
Wildlife Art of an American Master, sons Paul and Alan describe a career of more than
forty years, accompanied by vivid color reproductions of his extensive artwork.
Included in Singer’s biography are several unpublished works not yet seen by his collectors
or fans. Some of these images include sketches of American jazz artists, Cab Calloway,
Fats Waller and Duke Ellington, whom he befriended in the late 1930s. In this book are
paintings Singer created while traveling the world or preparing additions to his volumes
ornithology.
As a student at the Cooper Union Art School in New York City, SInger experimented
with abstractions from nature which fueled his ambition to become a wildlife artist. After
graduating from college, his artistic career took a turn in 1944 when he entered the U.S.
Army during World War II. His talents were recognized by a general who assigned him
to a special unit - the 603rd Camouflage Engineers - whose mission was visual deception
against enemy forces. His band of artists were also known as “The Ghost Army” and they
created not only camouflage, but visual, sonic, and audio deception to undermine German
intelligence.
Once his Army obligation had ended, Singer worked briefly for an advertising agency and
then became a full-time illustrator and painter in the mid-1950s. He received the
Augustus St. Gaudens Medal in 1962, after his bird paintings appeared in the book Birds of
the World which sold more than half a million copies.
Perhaps he is best known for his paintings of state birds which were seen by millions
when the U.S. Postal Service issued the State Birds & Flowers stamps in 1982. Alan Singer
assisted his father in creating art for this set of commemorative stamps which became on
of the largest selling series in U.S. Postal history. Singer’s talent was honored when he was
issued the Hal Borland Award from the National Audubon Society in 1985 upon the 200th
anniversary of Audubon’s birth.
Since Singer’s death in 1990, his artwork has had several retrospective exhibitions
including the New York Zoological Society’s Central Park Zoo Gallery, the Wendell Gilley
Museum, the Buffalo Museum of Natural History, Caumsett State Park’s Marshall Field
Gallery, The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute,
among others. Most recently, Singer’s watercolors painted during his army years have
appeared in the documentary and book entitled, The Ghost Army of World War II, which
has helped generate a new interest in the artwork of the 603rd Camouflage Unit.
Introduction By David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Society of Animal Artists
Publisher: RIT Press (07/2017)
IBSN-13: 9781939125392
Price: $60.00
About the Authors
Alan Singer is a graduate of the
Cooper Union School of Art with a
BFA in Fine Art (1972), and an MFA
from Cornell University (1975). For
nine years, Alan worked with his
father, Arthur, on revisions to both
of Singer’s Field guides to birds, and
helped illustrate the State Bird &
Flower Stamps for the Postal Service.
Alan illustrated the State Bird &
Flower first day covers for Unicover
Corp. Alan has also illustrated books
which include The Total Book of
Houseplants and State Birds. Since
1988, he has been an art educator
and professor at Rochester Institute
of Technology. A painter, printmak-
er, and author, he has had 27 solo
exhibitions at The Visual Artworker.
Alan and his wife, Anna, reside in
Rochester, New York.