Jacob Bates Abbott

Jacob Bates Abbott (November 11, 1895 – July 14/15, 1950) was an American wildlife artist and illustrator, birder, and conservationist. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Abbott served as a second lieutenant in the US Army during the First World War before establishing himself as a prolific artist and illustrator for ornithological field guides, magazines, and books. He was an Associate of the American Ornithologists' Union and was described by Arlie W. Schorger as one of America's "foremost wildlife artists."

In May 1917, he entered the Army's Officer's Training Camp at Fort Niagara and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in August of that year.

After leaving the Army, Abbott worked for a time as a bond broker, while illustrating on the side. He moved to California in 1929, where he worked as a cartoonist, illustrating a comic strip called The Gay Stone Age.

From 1941 to 1949, Abbott worked closely with Pennsylvania Game News, a publication of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, for whom he painted cover art and drew many illustrations. During this time he lived in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

Abbott also illustrated the children's book Birds at Home by Marguerite Henry. A reviewer of the book in The Quarterly Review of Biology wrote that his twelve full-color plates "would make a worthy addition to any bird lover's library."

Other art and collections Abbott illustrated many books and other publications throughout his career. Three non-wildlife etchings by Abbott are currently held in the Princeton University Art Museum.

A folder on Abbott is kept at the Smithsonian Institution, and his papers are housed in the University of Pittsburgh Library's Archives and Special Collections.

Birding, writing, and conservationism First page of "Vanishing Americans." Pennsylvania Game News, April 1946. Abbott's lifelong interest in birds and birdwatching is evidenced by his membership in an Audubon society as early as 1920. Later in life, he became an Associate of the American Ornithologists' Union; and at different times he was also a member of the Cooper Ornithological Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club.

Abbott frequently wrote (and illustrated) articles in Pennsylvania Game News about birding and conservation. For example, one of his articles, "Vanishing Americans," begins by describing different extinct species of bird before advocating for the protection of several then-endangered species of avian and non-avian wildlife. Among these, he focuses especially on the California Condor, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the Trumpeter Swan, and the Whooping Crane. Toward the beginning of the essay, Abbott sums up his position as a conservationist, writing of how "he only way that we can protect not only our vanishing birds, but also those which are still with us in considerable numbers, is to arouse a universal interest and understanding of bird-life in the coming generation of citizens."

Family and personal life In 1917, Jacob married Eleanor Ruth Jackson, with whom he had two children: Jackson Miles Abbott and Jaclyn Ruth Abbott. Jackson Miles Abbott won the Federal Duck Stamp Contest for 1957–58 with his painting of a pair of Common Eider (then called "American Eider"), and Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge at Fort Belvoir is named after him.

Jacob Bates Abbott died of a heart attack in an antique shop in Brattleboro, Vermont on July 14/15, 1950 (sources vary as to the exact date).