James Gurney Facts

Artist and author James Gurney brings a perspective of realism and scientific accuracy to his work in fantasy.

Background

Born in 1958 in Glendale, California. Raised in Palo Alto, the youngest of five children of Joanna and Robert Gurney (a mechanical engineer). Earned a B.A. in Archaeology in 1979 with Phi Beta Kappa honors at the University of California at Berkeley. Studied painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he met his wife-to-be Jeanette, also an artist. In 1984 they moved to the Hudson Valley of New York State, where they raised two sons, Daniel and Franklin.

Illustration Work

  • 1984-2005. Illustrator for National Geographic Magazine, including the following assignments: Battle of Hampton Roads (3/2006), Patagonian Dinosaurs (12/1997), Kingdom of Kush (11/1990), Attic Scene (2/1989), Moche, Peru (10/1988), Wool (5/1988), Etruscans (6/1988), Soybeans (7/1987), Eskimos (6/1987), Ulysses (8/1986), Jason (9/1985), Humboldt (9/1985)
  • 1981-1990. Freelance illustrator for over seventy science fiction and fantasy paperback book covers, 1982-1991, including Quozl by Alan Dean Foster and On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
  • 1981-2. Scenic background painter for the animated film Fire and Ice (1983), produced by Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, for which he produced over 500 paintings

U.S. Postage Stamp Art

  • Sickle Cell Awareness, 37 cent stamp, issued Sept. 30, 2004
  • The World of Dinosaurs, commemorative pane of 15 stamps, issued May 1, 1997 in Grand Junction, CO. 219,000,000 produced
  • Settling of Ohio, Northwest Territory, 1788, postal card, issued 1988

Books or Articles by James Gurney

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara
  • Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2007
  • "Asher Durand: Plein-Air Pioneer," PleinAir Mag. Apr. 2005
  • Dinotopia: First Flight, HarperCollins, New York 1999
  • The World of Dinosaurs, Greenwich Workshop, 1998
  • Dinotopia: The World Beneath, Turner Publishing, 1995
  • Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time, Turner, 1992
  • The Artist's Guide to Sketching, Watson-Guptill, 1982

Selected Articles about James Gurney

  • "Fact & Fantasy: The Paintings of James Gurney," American Artist cover feature, November, 2006
  • "Fine Art of Fantasy" The Artist's Magazine, Feb. 2006
  • "Dinotopia: The Magical World of James Gurney," Smithsonian, September 1995 cover feature
  • Dinosaur Tale Lets Kids' Imagination Roam," USA Today, November 18, 1992
  • "Living with Dinosaurs: Inside the Mind of a Man Who Makes Fantasy Seem Real," Life, October 1992

Selected Awards

  • Best Artist, Hudson Valley Magazine Awards, 2006
  • Finalist, Art Renewal Center Salon, 2005
  • Gold Medal, Creativity 28 (Dinosaur Stamps)
  • Best of Show, Art Director's Club, 49th Annual Show
  • Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators, New York
  • World Fantasy Award, World Fantasy Association
  • Colorado Children's Book Award, (Best Junior Novel)
  • 4 Gold & Silver Awards, Spectrum Annual of Fantasy Art
  • 2 Hugo Awards, World Science Fiction Convention
  • 7 Chesley Awards, Association of Fantasy Artists

Selected Museum Exhibitions

  • 2007 Return to Dinotopia, Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh WI
  • 2006 The Art of National Geographic, Norman Rockwell Museum MA
  • 2006 Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney, NR Museum
  • 2006 James Gurney's Dinotopia, The Alden Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland, MI
  • 2005 Spectrum Exhibition, Society of Illustrators, NY
  • 2005 The Magic of Storybook Art, Rye Arts Center, NY
  • 2004 Dinotopia Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, WI
  • 2003 Dinotopia et les Mondes Perdus, Maison d'Ailleurs, Yverdon, Switzerland
  • 2002 Dinotopia, Smithsonian Museum of Nat. History
  • 2001 Passages, Brattleboro Museum of Art, Vermont
  • 2000 Picturing T. Rex, Field Museum, Chicago
  • 2000 Pushing the Envelope: The Art of the Postage Stamp, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA
  • 1999 Possible Futures: Science Fiction Art, Univ. of MD
  • 1999 Art of National Geographic, A Century of Illustration, Explorer's Hall, Washington, DC
  • 1997 Designing Dinosaurs, Bruce Museum, CT
  • 1992-3 Dinotopia, LA County Museum of Natural History, Cleveland MNH, Royal Tyrell Museum, Alberta, Canada
  • 1990 Into the Future, Park Avenue Atrium
  • 1987 Paperback Art, Society of Illustrators, NY
  • 1986 Fantastic Art, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE
  • 1984 Visions of Other Worlds, Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Selected Lectures

  • 2006 The Nineteenth Century Plein Air Tradition, Vassar College
  • 2006 Guest of Honor Address, World Science Fiction Convention
  • 2002 Dinotopia: Behind the Scenes, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  • 1995 The Science Behind Dinotopia, New York State Museum
  • 1993 A Journey to Dinotopia, National Geographic, Grosvener Auditorium

For more information, please visit www.dinotopia.com or www.jamesgurney.com

PO Box 693, Rhinebeck, NY 12572-0693