Henrik Grönvold
Encyclopedia
Henrik Grönvold was a Danish
bird
illustrator
.
Grönvold developed an interest in natural history at a young age, and would spend his time drawing the birds and animals around him. After studying drawing in Copenhagen he went on to work as a draughtsman for the Danish artillery from 1880.
Grönvold left his native country for America. He travelled via England, arriving in London in 1893 where he found employment at the Natural History Museum
as an 'articulator' preparing bird skeletons on wire armatures. Gronvold's Swedish wife, Josefine, followed a year later. Gronvold became a skilled taxidermist, and established a reputation as an artist. Gronvold worked at the Museum for a few years before leaving to accompany William Ogilvie-Grant on his expedition to the Salvage Islands in 1895. On his return, Gronvold continued to work at the Museum in an unofficial capacity as an artist for many more years.
By the end of the nineteenth century Gronvold’s illustrations were appearing in numerous scientific publications including the Proceedings and Transactions of the Zoological Society, Ibis and the Avicultural Magazine for whom he draw plates for George Albert Boulenger
, William Ogilvie-Grant, Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (1858-1929) and C. I. Forsyth (1843-1923) among others. Gronvold also completed numerous plates for Walter Rothschild, many of which appeared in Rothschild’s journal Novitates Zoologicae. Gronvold also produced many plates of bird eggs, which were quite unusual and rarely featured in early bird books. Some of these plates included those of the eggs of the Great Auk
that he completed for the English zoologist Alfred Newton
(1829-1907).
Grönvold also illustrated Captain George Shelley’s Birds of Africa, completing 57 plates of many species that had not been illustrated before. Other publications that featured Gronvold’s work include W. L. Buller’s The Birds of New Zealand, Brabourne’s Birds of South America, McConnell’s Birds of British Guiana and H. K. Swann’s A Monograph of the Birds of Prey (1930-45). He also completed 600 hand-coloured plates for twelve volumes of The Birds of Australia (1910-27) for the wealthy Australian Gregory Macalister Mathews for which J. G. Keulemans also contributed. Gronvold subsequently provided numerous illustrations for Mathews’ The Birds of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands … (1928) and A Supplement to The Birds of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands … (1936) – some of the last publications that were issued with hand-coloured plates.
Such was his contributions to bird art that a Mirafara lark was named for him in 1930. Gronvold died at Bedford in 1940. He was survived by his wife Josefine, and daughter Elsa, who had become a skilled portrait painter.
Grönvold provided the illustrations for Henry Eliot Howard's The British Warblers (1907-14), Charles William Beebe's A Monograph of the Pheasants (1918-22), and Herbert Christopher Robinson
's The Birds of the Malay Peninsula
(1929-76).
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
Grönvold developed an interest in natural history at a young age, and would spend his time drawing the birds and animals around him. After studying drawing in Copenhagen he went on to work as a draughtsman for the Danish artillery from 1880.
Grönvold left his native country for America. He travelled via England, arriving in London in 1893 where he found employment at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
as an 'articulator' preparing bird skeletons on wire armatures. Gronvold's Swedish wife, Josefine, followed a year later. Gronvold became a skilled taxidermist, and established a reputation as an artist. Gronvold worked at the Museum for a few years before leaving to accompany William Ogilvie-Grant on his expedition to the Salvage Islands in 1895. On his return, Gronvold continued to work at the Museum in an unofficial capacity as an artist for many more years.
By the end of the nineteenth century Gronvold’s illustrations were appearing in numerous scientific publications including the Proceedings and Transactions of the Zoological Society, Ibis and the Avicultural Magazine for whom he draw plates for George Albert Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, William Ogilvie-Grant, Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (1858-1929) and C. I. Forsyth (1843-1923) among others. Gronvold also completed numerous plates for Walter Rothschild, many of which appeared in Rothschild’s journal Novitates Zoologicae. Gronvold also produced many plates of bird eggs, which were quite unusual and rarely featured in early bird books. Some of these plates included those of the eggs of the Great Auk
Great Auk
The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...
that he completed for the English zoologist Alfred Newton
Alfred Newton
Alfred Newton FRS was an English zoologist and ornithologist.Newton was Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge University from 1866 to 1907...
(1829-1907).
Grönvold also illustrated Captain George Shelley’s Birds of Africa, completing 57 plates of many species that had not been illustrated before. Other publications that featured Gronvold’s work include W. L. Buller’s The Birds of New Zealand, Brabourne’s Birds of South America, McConnell’s Birds of British Guiana and H. K. Swann’s A Monograph of the Birds of Prey (1930-45). He also completed 600 hand-coloured plates for twelve volumes of The Birds of Australia (1910-27) for the wealthy Australian Gregory Macalister Mathews for which J. G. Keulemans also contributed. Gronvold subsequently provided numerous illustrations for Mathews’ The Birds of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands … (1928) and A Supplement to The Birds of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands … (1936) – some of the last publications that were issued with hand-coloured plates.
Such was his contributions to bird art that a Mirafara lark was named for him in 1930. Gronvold died at Bedford in 1940. He was survived by his wife Josefine, and daughter Elsa, who had become a skilled portrait painter.
Grönvold provided the illustrations for Henry Eliot Howard's The British Warblers (1907-14), Charles William Beebe's A Monograph of the Pheasants (1918-22), and Herbert Christopher Robinson
Herbert Christopher Robinson
Herbert Christopher Robinson was a British zoologist and ornithologist. He is principally known for conceiving and initiating the major ornithological reference The Birds of the Malay Peninsula....
's The Birds of the Malay Peninsula
The Birds of the Malay Peninsula
The Birds of the Malay Peninsula is a major illustrated ornithological reference work conceived and started by Herbert Christopher Robinson. The full title is The Birds of the Malay Peninsula: a general account of the birds inhabiting the region from the isthmus of Kra to Singapore with the...
(1929-76).