Albert E. Butler (1880-?)

Butler was associated with the AMNH from 1904 throught his retirement in 1946. As the associate chief in the Department of Preparation & Installation, Butler supervised the installation of foregrounds for the Hall of Asian Mammals, the Akeley Hall of African Mammals (such as the Bongo and Water Hole dioramas), the Hall of North American Mammals, and three bird halls. He was responsible for developing many new techniques in exhibit fabrication, and in 1934 published a museum leaflet on diorama fabrication entitled "Building the Museum Group," which describes his methods. Butler traveled on expeditions to Asia, Africa, Central America, and Western North America to collect foreground materials for dioramas at the Museum.

Raymond DeLucia (1916-97)

DeLucia graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1938. He began working at the AMNH that same year, and remained until his retirement in 1978. During his tenure he worked primarily as a diorama foreground artist, but he occasionally painted backgrounds such as the one for the great horned owl diorama in the Hall of North American Birds. His first field expedition was to the Western Sonora in Mexico in 1939 to collect foreground accessories for the jaguar diorama. DeLucia was an authority on whales and the history of the American whaling industry. His foreground work can be seen in the Whitney Memorial Hall of Pacific Bird Life, the Hall of North American Mammals, and the Hall of North American Forests.

Freidoun Jalayer (1919-1989)

Employed as a preparator at the AMNH during the 1950s and early '60s, "Freddy," as he was known to his colleagues, contributed foreground work for the Hall of North American Mammals and the Hall of North American Forests. The beautiful model of the showy ladyslipper orchid in the beaver diorama is a fine example of his work. Jalayer, along with George Petersen, also created the superb models of saguaro cactus for the giant cactus forest diorama in the Hall of North American Forests.

George Frederick Mason (1904-2000)

"Fred," as he was called by his coworkers, worked at the AMNH for twenty-five years, and spent his last ten years as associate curator of education. In 1938 he traveled to Alaska to collect for the moose diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals-it was his first of fourteen trips there. Mason's foreground work can be seen in dioramas in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals and the Hall of North American Mammals.

Carlton McKinley (1909-?)

Employed at the AMNH from 1933 through 1941, McKinley was a foreground artist who contributed to the Akeley Hall of African Mammals, the Whitney Hall of Oceanic Birds, and the Hall of North American Mammals. His re-creation of the barrel cactus in the jackrabbit diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals is an example of his great skill as a model-maker.

Ushinosuke Narahara (1888-?)

On the exhibits department staff of the AMNH from 1920 through 1943, Narahara was renowned for his superb botanical models created for dioramas in the Hall of Asian Mammals, the Akeley Hall of African Mammals, the Hall of North American Mammals, and the Whitney Memorial Hall of Pacific Bird Life.

Tomas Newbery (b. 1928)

"Tomy" Newbery (right, with Sayre on left) was a self-taught artist who became well known for his paintings in his native Patagonia, Argentina. Employed as an artist in the Exhibition Department of the AMNH from 1951 to 1966, Newbery did extensive foreground work in the Hall of North American Forests. He is credited with introducing vacuum forming as a production method for making high-quality artificial leaves and flowers for habitat dioramas. He is currently living in Virginia.

George Peterson (1905-1991)

"Pete," as he was known to colleagues, was first employed by Chicago's Field Museum from 1924 to 1933, wehre he specialized in the collecting and fabricating of accurate botanical models. He was hired by the AMNH in 1933 to create plant reproductions for the Akeley Hall of African Mammals. He also participated in the Whitney South Sea Expeditions, returning to take part in the installation of the Whitney Memorial Hall of Pacific Bird Life from 1940 through 1943. Petersen then participated in the collecting and fabrication work for a number of other halls in the AMNH, including the Hall of North American Mammals, the Hall of North American Forests, and the Hall of African Peoples. Petersen's article on the fabrication of botanical models for museum display, published in Curator magazine in 1958, is considered the definitive examination of the subject. He retired in 1973.

Richard C. Raddatz (1879-1937)

Raddatz joined the staff of the AMNH in 1924, and was trained by taxidermist Carl Akeley. Raddatz accompanied Akeley on his last expedition to Africa in 1926, collecting foreground accessories. He returned to Africa in 1937 to assist in gathering materials for the ostrich and warthog diorama, when he died of a sudden heart attack in Nairobi, Kenya (then in British East Africa), at the age of fifty-eight.

Reginald J. ("Buddy") Sayre (1909-?)

Employed as a preparator at the AMNH from 1946 through 1958, Sayre provided diorama foregrounds for the Hall of North American Mammals and the Hall of North American Forests, before moving to the Smithsonian Institution's exhibit department.

Charles Tornell (1906-79)

Tornell worked at the AMNH for thirty years as a foreground artist and supervisor in the Exhibition Department. One of his most challenging and creative endeavors was creating the foreground snow for the Canadian Lynx and Snowshoe Hare diorama. Tornell carefully layered thin sheets of cotton batting topped with adhesive and finely chopped white acrylic to create a freshly fallen snow effect. His work has also been featured in exhibits for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Children's Museum in Boston. Tornell retired in 1972.