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Artists›Abbott Handerson Thayer

Abbott Handerson Thayer

Abbott Handerson Thayer

?–1921

WA-00024017

Mixed Media

Representation

None documented

0

Institutional Exhibitions

103

Works in Collection

107

Assets Indexed

4

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

70%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

WikidataQ306759

Field Verification (4 fields)

1 cross-verified · 3 single-source

Is PublishedManual· 100%✓
Birth yearArtsy· 85%
LocationArtsy· 85%
NationalityArtsy· 85%

Source Registry (1)

Wikidata
Tier 1 · Institutional85%

About

Why this artist matters now

Abbott Handerson Thayer was an American painter and theorist of camouflage whose work bridged late 19th-century academic portraiture and early modernist abstraction. Known for luminous figure paintings and allegorical compositions, he developed an influential theory of protective coloration in nature that extended into his artistic practice. His writings on camouflage and concealment in animal and human form shaped both artistic and military thinking in the early twentieth century. Thayer's late work became increasingly abstract, exploring the relationship between visibility, color, and form.

Source: Wikidata · Trust score: 85% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Mixed Media

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Smithsonian American Art MuseumWashington, D.C.Art Institute of ChicagoChicago National Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.

Canonical record

Artworks (103)

Townsend Bradley Martin

Townsend Bradley Martin

1919 · oil paint

27 5/8 x 21 3/4 in. (70.1 x 55.2 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Girl Arranging Her Hair

Girl Arranging Her Hair

1918 · oil paint

25 5/8 x 24 1/4 in. (65.1 x 61.5 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Winter Sunrise, Monadnock

Winter Sunrise, Monadnock

1917 · oil paint

Frog

5 x 6 in. (12.8 x 15.3 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Copperhead Snake on Dead Leaves, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Copperhead Snake on Dead Leaves, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1912 · watercolor on cardboard mounted on wood panel

sight 9 1/2 x 15/1/2 in. (24.1 x 39.3 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Mount Monadnock

Mount Monadnock

1911 · oil paint

overall: 56.4 × 61.4 cm (22 3/16 × 24 3/16 in.) framed: 78.4 × 83.2 × 6.7 cm (30 7/8 × 32 3/4 × 2 5/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Blue Jays in Winter, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Blue Jays in Winter, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil paint

22 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. (56.1 x 45.9 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Peacock in the Woods, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Peacock in the Woods, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil on canvas

45 1/4 x 36 3/8 in. (114.9 x 92.4 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Sky Simulated by White Flamingoes study for book, Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

The Sky Simulated by White Flamingoes study for book, Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil on wood

10 1/8 x 12 in. (25.8 x 30.4 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Sunrise or Sunset, study for book, Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Sunrise or Sunset, study for book, Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil on wood

8 1/2 x 10 5/8 in. (21.6 x 27.0 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Roseate Spoonbill, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Roseate Spoonbill, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil on wood

8 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (21.0 x 26.9 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Sky Simulated by Red Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

The Sky Simulated by Red Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil on wood

9 1/4 x 9 5/8 in. (23.6 x 24.5 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Red Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Red Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1907 · oil on wood

9 1/4 x 11 1/8 in. (23.5 x 28.1 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Male Wood Duck in a Forest Pool, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Male Wood Duck in a Forest Pool, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1905 · oil on canvas

20 1/4 x 20 1/4 in. (51.3 x 51.4 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

White Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

White Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1905 · oil on wood

10 1/8 x 9 3/8 in. (25.6 x 23.8 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Roseate Spoonbills, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

Roseate Spoonbills, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

1905 · oil paint

22 7/8 x 26 1/4 in. (58.2 x 66.6 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Stevenson Memorial

Stevenson Memorial

1903 · oil paint

81 5/8 x 60 1/8 in. (207.2 x 152.6 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Portrait of a Lady (Mrs. William B. Cabot)

Portrait of a Lady (Mrs. William B. Cabot)

1900 · oil paint

39 x 32 3/8 in. (99.1 x 82.3 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Winter, Monadnock

Winter, Monadnock

1900 · watercolor, gouache, chalk, and pencil on paperboard

sheet: 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.5 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Young Woman

1898 · oil paint

Cornish Headlands

Cornish Headlands

1898 · oil paint

30 1/8 x 40 1/8 in. (76.5 x 101.8 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Head of Mary B. Thayer

Head of Mary B. Thayer

1897 · charcoal, pencil and wash on paper

17 x 12 7/8 in. (43.2 x 32.7 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

My Children (Mary, Gerald, and Gladys Thayer)

My Children (Mary, Gerald, and Gladys Thayer)

1897 · oil paint

86 1/4 x 61 1/8 in. (219.1 x 155.1 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Study of a Young Woman

Study of a Young Woman

1895 · pencil on paperboard

13 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (33.7 x 26.0 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

View all 103 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

103 published of 104 catalogued · 103 with image

Smithsonian
97 published97 img
Wikidata
4 published4 img
Nga
1 publishedof 2 catalogued1 img
Art Institute Chicago
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 8)

32 entries · 1 sources

My Children (Mary, Gerald, and Gladys Thayer)
1897 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Dublin Pond, New Hampshire
1894 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Portrait of a Lady (Mrs. William B. Cabot)
1900 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Village Street, Dominica
1885 · Smithsonian · 4 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_url
Mary
1885 · Smithsonian · 4 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Tomb of Verona
1885 · Smithsonian · 3 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_url
The Sky Simulated by Red Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
1907 · Smithsonian · 3 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_url
Red Flamingoes, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
1907 · Smithsonian · 3 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_url

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Abbott Handerson Thayer (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Abbott Handerson Thayer (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Relationships

3

Collections3

Smithsonian American Art Museum Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Washington, D.C., United States

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

In collection

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet