Hope, John William, 1889-1982

Summary

Born in Sydney, Australia, John William Hope worked at the American Museum of Natural History from 1923 to 1936. He contributed taxidermy to the Hall of Asian Mammals and the Akeley Hall of African Mammals. Most notable of his works on this hall are the mountain nyala, the giant eland, and the giant sable. An accomplished sculptor, Hope created the fourteen bas-reliefs that appear above each of the dioramas on the main level of the African Hall. Each of these depict a different scene featuring African animals. (Source: Stephen Quinn, Windows on Nature, 2006)

He also sculpted the figures in the Pearl Divers diorama in the Hall of Ocean Life, the figures in Old New York diorama in the 1st floor Roosevelt Memorial, and memorial plaques for Carl Akeley and Bashford Dean. After leaving the Museum he worked as a professional sculptor until 1942, went to work at the Michigan State University Museum as a museum technician. He retired from there in 1958 after a notable career sculpting models, creating numerous dioramas, and painting a series of murals depicting ancient life. (Source: AMNH Library bio files)

Topics

• AMNH People

Found in 17 Collections and/or Records: