John Lanzendorf
Encyclopedia
John J. Lanzendorf is an American hairstylist who amassed one of the world's largest collections of dinosaur
-themed artwork. The collection is now owned by the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
Lanzendorf lives in the Gold Coast
neighborhood of Chicago
. During the 1970s and 1980s, he earned a reputation as one of the favorite hairstylists of Chicago's socialites. He worked with the fashion photographer Victor Skrebneski
and had his own studio on Chicago's Oak Street
.
Lanzendorf had begun collecting dinosaur-related items as a child, when he found a small plastic dinosaur toy in a cereal box. After recovering from cancer in the early 1990s, he started purchasing sculptures, paintings, and drawings from some of the best-known paleoartists, such as James Gurney
, John Gurche
, and Michael Skrepnick. He also acquired drawings from the University of Chicago
paleontologist Paul Sereno
, who became a close friend. By 2000, he owned about 500 pieces, which he kept in his one-bedroom apartment.
In 2000, Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History
displayed about seventy of Lanzendorf's Tyrannosaurus
sculptures and paintings to complement the grand opening of their Sue the Tyrannosaurus
exhibit. That same year, a coffee table book
about Lazendorf's collection, Dinosaur Imagery, was released by Academic Press
. The book included a foreword by paleontologist Philip J. Currie and commentaries on the collection from other dinosaur researchers.
Lanzendorf sold his dinosaur collection to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis in 2001. He then redecorated his apartment with Asian art. Lanzendorf told an interviewer that he developed an interest in Asian artifacts after visiting fossil sites in Mongolia
. He continues to support dinosaur artists with the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize, awarded through the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
.
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
-themed artwork. The collection is now owned by the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
Lanzendorf lives in the Gold Coast
Gold Coast Historic District (Chicago, Illinois)
The Gold Coast Historic District is a historic district in Chicago, Illinois. Part of Chicago's Near North Side community area, it is roughly bounded by North Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, Oak Street, and Clark Street....
neighborhood of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. During the 1970s and 1980s, he earned a reputation as one of the favorite hairstylists of Chicago's socialites. He worked with the fashion photographer Victor Skrebneski
Victor Skrebneski
Victor Skrebneski is a photographer born to parents of Polish and Russian heritage. He was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1943 and attended the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1947 to 1949...
and had his own studio on Chicago's Oak Street
Oak Street (Chicago)
Oak Street is a short street on Chicago's Gold Coast at 1000 North in Chicago's street numbering system, running from 138 east to 648 west in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It ends without crossing the North Branch of the Chicago River...
.
Lanzendorf had begun collecting dinosaur-related items as a child, when he found a small plastic dinosaur toy in a cereal box. After recovering from cancer in the early 1990s, he started purchasing sculptures, paintings, and drawings from some of the best-known paleoartists, such as James Gurney
James Gurney
James Gurney is an artist and author best known for his illustrated book series Dinotopia, which is presented in the form of a 19th century explorer’s journal from an island utopia cohabited by humans and dinosaurs...
, John Gurche
John Gurche
John Gurche is an American artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and sketches of prehistoric life, especially dinosaurs and early humans....
, and Michael Skrepnick. He also acquired drawings from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
paleontologist Paul Sereno
Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno is an American paleontologist from the University of Chicago who discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents. He has conducted excavations at sites as varied as Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco, and Niger...
, who became a close friend. By 2000, he owned about 500 pieces, which he kept in his one-bedroom apartment.
In 2000, Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...
displayed about seventy of Lanzendorf's Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
sculptures and paintings to complement the grand opening of their Sue the Tyrannosaurus
Sue (dinosaur)
"Sue" is the nickname given to FMNH PR 2081, which is the largest, most extensive and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found. It was discovered in the summer of 1990 by Sue Hendrickson, a paleontologist, and was named after her...
exhibit. That same year, a coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
about Lazendorf's collection, Dinosaur Imagery, was released by Academic Press
Academic Press
Academic Press is an academic book publisher. Originally independent, it was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier....
. The book included a foreword by paleontologist Philip J. Currie and commentaries on the collection from other dinosaur researchers.
Lanzendorf sold his dinosaur collection to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis in 2001. He then redecorated his apartment with Asian art. Lanzendorf told an interviewer that he developed an interest in Asian artifacts after visiting fossil sites in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. He continues to support dinosaur artists with the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize, awarded through the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was founded in 1940 for individuals with an interest in vertebrate paleontology. SVP now has almost 2,000 members. The society's website states that SVP "is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes...
.