Beauty in the Beast

A prolific artist illuminates the beauty of our planetAs introduced in Tyree: Artist of the South Pacific, Ralph Burke Tyree helped popularize Polynesian art in the twentieth century. He enjoyed a professional career in California and the Pacific Rim, painting idyllic portraits and scenes in oils on board and, later, on fine black velvet.In 1970, when the first Earth Day sparked the environmental movement of the 1970s, and DDT threatened the bald eagle and other birds of prey with extinction, endangered animals entered his repertoire. For the next decade, he chose these majestic creatures to be his muses, bringing awareness to their declining numbers.Published to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Beauty in the Beast explores the works of the last ten years of Tyree's life, when animals became his focus. Endangered species like the pangolin, cotton-top tamarin, ornate Hawk-eagle, dwarf lemur, red panda, slow loris, and leopard are brought to live by Tyree's skilled hand.In full color, Beauty in the Beast is a tribute to Ralph Burke Tyree's artistic brilliance and to the beauty and importance of our planet's plants and animals.