One of only two books both written and illustrated by the legendary artist.

57 monochrome plates (illustration in black on a beige background), many with multiple images, 123 magnificent illustrations in all.

This copy is lacking the dustjacket, however the dustjacket endflaps have been taped to the rear endpaper.

From those dustjacket endflaps:

A master of the art of animal portraiture, Charles R. Knight has compiled the most complete book available on the anatomy and psychology involved in the drawing of animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates.

In the simplest form possible, the author presents innumerable answers to the always difficult proposition of drawing animals realistically, and at the same time instills in the reader the enthusiasm for his work without which all art must eventually deteriorate into the flat and uninteresting.

The 123 magnificent illustrations represent faithfully the living, breathing animal in many physical poses and psychological expressions. The tips to the artist concentrate on the more important muscles, their form and disposition, contours, proportions, and how they wrap about the bony skeletons to make up the beautiful mechanism of a living creature.

Special attention is paid to the joints of the animal, how they function in both the standing and reclining position. This information will clarify the abstruse and difficult problem of portraying animal construction and help greatly in the quick sketching of a fleeting pose when detailed observation is impossible.

The comparisons of actions of various types of animals will be very helpful, as a close study of these will gradually accustom the artist to observe with accuracy the complicated movements of the living creature. Muscle planes also have been considered in the rendering of the muscular anatomies, both those which turn more or less up toward the light, and those which down into the shadow. In Mr. Knight's drawings from the actual models, no undue emphasis is placed upon any one of the essential features; all receive proportional treatment.

All painters, sculptors, designers, or decorators who Use animal forms as the principal phase of their art expression can obtain from this book a general artistic knowledge of how to draw lifelike animals.

Charles R. Knight is unique in his ability as an and his knowledge as a scientist. His paintings of animal life have been widely reproduced in scientific magazines; and these and his representations of prehistoric times are part of the permanent collections of the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum of Chicago, and the Los Angeles Museum. A life member of the American Museum of Natural History, he is also the author of LIFE THROUGH THE AGES and BEFORE THE DAWN OF HISTORY.