Biography of Ernest Seton-Thompson. Ernest Seton-Thompson: biography and literary activity Ernest Seton Thompson biography
Ernest Seton-Thompson was born (1860-1946) in England, in the small town of South Shields. But he was not English by birth. His ancestors came from Scotland. Legends about the glorious past were lovingly kept in the family, as well as about the hunting successes of many of their members who belonged to the ancient family, especially about Lord Seton, a passionate hunter who killed the last wolf in the British Isles in the same 18th century. Many years later, having become famous writer, Seton-Thompson restored the old surname of the family, retaining for some time a double surname, under which he established himself as a writer in world literature.
As an equally gifted person, he spoke about his life in the book he wrote in his declining years, “The Path of the Artist-Naturalist” (1941), in the Russian translation “My Life.”
The father of the future writer was a wealthy man, the owner of about ten ships that transported goods to all corners of the world. The large family - there were fourteen children (four of them died at an early age) - lived in abundance. Seton-Thompson was the youngest, tenth child. Already at an early age he developed a love for animals. No matter how bitterly he cried, he had only to say: “Look, a bird!” or show him some kind of bug to shut him up. In winter, as he recalled, his mother used to wrap him in a blanket and tell him to imagine himself as a tree. Having entered this image, the boy, without moving, sat for hours near the wall. He also loved to listen to fairy tales, such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids,” but his sympathies were always on the side of the wolf.
The writer truthfully describes an episode of a bloody massacre, in which he himself participated, over the neighbor’s chickens that strayed onto their property. Later, fear and shame appeared for what he had done. Perhaps, it was after this event that the writer began to think about the difficult and often dramatic relationship between man and nature, about the need to protect it from human desires that harm nature.
During the early years of Seton-Thompson's childhood, his father's affairs deteriorated, and when the boy was six years old, the whole family moved to Canada in search of happiness. They first settled in the city of Lindsay, in the province of Ontario, and four years ago they moved to Toronto, then a small town surrounded by forests.
This move to Canada determined future fate writer. The boy found himself in completely unusual conditions. opened up to him new world forests where there were many similar animals and birds.
Young Ernest remembered most of all how the first house was erected with the hands of his parents and brothers, in the construction of which he, the little one, also took part. He also remembered the long journey to school, when he somehow almost didn’t freeze. He remembered how the first deer was shot before his brother’s eyes, and his feelings: the desire to hit him, and then the feeling of pain at the sight of an animal that died before his eyes.
The guy always spent all his free time in fields and forests, watching the life of animals and birds. By the time he graduated from school, he knew that he would become a naturalist. But my father was against it, because this profession did not provide the opportunity to earn a lot of money. He believed that it was better to study to become an artist by drawing his favorite animals. So he started drawing. He was taught by a local master. The young man enters a local art school, where he receives gold medal.
In 1879, Ernest went to London to enter the Royal Academy of Arts. But it was only the following year that he was enrolled and given the opportunity to complete a seven-year course of study. His greatest joy then was visiting the zoo, where he sat all day, making sketches of animals. But he did not study at the academy for long. The constant need for money and starvation exhausted his strength, and he was forced to return home in 1882.
Seton-Thompson settled in Manitoba and returned to his favorite activity - observing animals. At this time, he wrote and published many articles about animals, and in 1886 his first book, “Mammals of Manitoba,” was published, after which a number of scientific publications soon appeared.
In 1898, Seton-Thompson published the book “The Animals I Have Known” (in Russian translation “My Wild Friends”), which made people talk about him as a writer who rediscovered the animal world for humans. Following it, books appeared such as: “The Fate of the Persecuted” (1901), “Hero Animals” (1905), “Wild Animals at Home,” which only strengthened this impression about him.
The main characters of Seton-Thompson - not only one, two, but several dozen books - are animals. Sometimes domestic, but mostly wild, forest animals, which modern people, as a rule, had to see only in the zoo, in a small and uncomfortable cage.
Seton-Thompson describes their life in freedom, where they appear in all their glory, in no way inferior to man, but mostly superior to it, with their own special character, habits, with their own unique character, with a one-of-a-kind destiny, capricious turns which is no less captivating than the intrigue of an adventure novel.
There are many unusual things in the stories the writer tells. His heroes are the Winnipeg wolf, the dog Bingo, who saved his owner from certain death; the wise leader of the pack of wolves Lobo, who easily unravels all the hunters’ tricks, and his girlfriend Blanca; Tito the Coyote; Jack Rabbit and many others seem to be gifted with extraordinary qualities, but the stories themselves amaze primarily with their realism. These are “true stories.” The writer speaks only about what he saw and what he himself took part in. But both the vision and his participation are special. He saw the world around him through the eyes of a naturalist, not just a person in love with nature, not touched, who carefully studies it in all its manifestations, who tries to comprehend its secrets, approaches it with scientific objectivity.
Seton-Thompson carefully studied the habits of the most similar animals and birds. When he wrote about animals, readers were amazed at the author's powers of observation. Thompson wrote about everything as if he himself had once been a raven, a fox, or a bear. He knew in detail the life of animals, knew how they breed their offspring, how they find food, and what tricks they resort to to deceive their enemies. And this is no coincidence, because he was a scientist and spent decades observing many animals of the Canadian forests. He recorded everything he saw in his naturalist’s diary, which he used when he began to write his works, where he “populated” his animals. In addition, the writer drew beautifully. As a rule, he illustrated his books himself and left thousands of pictures from nature.
But animals were not Seton-Thompson's only hobby. His other passion was the Indians, their way of life, their “forest science”: The writer deeply admired how the Indians, whose life was spent in the forests, among wild nature, were able to read it like an open book, penetrating all its secrets. He devoted many years to studying their lives.
This was all reflected in the books of Seton-Thompson, which were no less famous than his stories about animals. Among these books were: “The Birch Bark Scroll of the Indians” (1907), “The Book of Forest Science and Indian Wisdom” (1912), “The Goblin’s Textbook” (1912), “The Gospel of the Red Skin” (1938). Books about Indians also include the book “Rolf in the Woods” (1911).
"Lobo"
The main character of this story is a huge leader of the pack gray wolves- Lobo, who ravaged the Currumpo Valley for many years. His thunderous roar, well known to all shepherds, frightened the entire populated region of the northern part of New Mexico. His small pack was also well known, which included the she-wolf Blanca, Lobo’s friend, who raided herds of cows and flocks of sheep not only for the sake of need, but for the sake of entertainment, eating only selected pieces of meat from young heifers. Thanks to their leader, these wolves were elusive: they never fell into traps, did not eat dead meat, and seemed to mock all the tricks that cattle breeders and hunters tried to use. The narrator of this story, a former wolf hunter, aroused a sense of respect for the leader for his sharp mind, resourcefulness and ingenuity. But the hero arrived at the ranch with the goal of helping farmers fight this furious pack. Many failures befell him before he realized what hook he could use to hook the leader. During these searches, we, together with the author, have the opportunity, thanks to his naturalistic descriptions, to imagine rocky mountains where wolves were hiding, farmsteads, scenes of massacres of sheep, etc. The narrator studied the leader's character well and, like a smart hunter, understood him weak point(as a loner he was invincible and could only die due to the carelessness of a comrade whom he trusted). The brilliant plan worked perfectly, Blanca served as bait, and Lobo, looking for her, finally fell into the trap. But the death of this giant wolf is a real tragedy. Betrayal of friends, contempt for those who won, longing for the dead beloved and, finally, a dignified death cause genuine regret for this predatory beast.
MAIN WORKS:
“The Path of the Naturalist Artist”, “My Life”, “My Wild Friends”, “The Fate of the Persecuted”, “Hero Animals”, “Wild Animals at Home”, “Birch Bark Scroll of the Indians”, “The Book of Forest Science and Indian Wisdoms” ", "The Goblin's Textbook", "The Gospel of the Red-Skinned One", "Rolf in the Woods".
LITERATURE:
1. Stories about animals. - M., 1966;
2. My life. Animal heroes. The fate of the persecuted. My wild friends. - M., 1982.
The famous Canadian writer, hunter, traveler and animal artist Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860-1946) decided from childhood to become a naturalist and pursued his goal with enviable tenacity.
When they attacked hard days, he remembered a brave ancestor who, many centuries ago, became famous for his exploits in the battles for Scotland. The boy said to himself: “Invincible Georgie never gave up, which means I must emerge victorious!”
Ernest Seton-Thompson was born in the north of England in a small seaside town, his grandfather and father were shipowners. When the family's affairs worsened, they had to move to America. His parents, cousin and nine brothers settled in Ontario, deciding to start farming. We had to do everything ourselves: build a spacious house for a huge family, take care of livestock.
His father had long noticed little Ernest’s hobby: he enjoyed going into the forest, observing plants, trees and animals. But he was especially interested in birds; he made sketches of their plumage, memorized their voices, but, unfortunately, could not name them by name. Arriving in the city, the boy went into a hardware store, where the owner kept stuffed birds, under each stuffed bird there was a sign with the name. Now he could recognize every bird he encountered in the forest!
In a bookstore, Ernest found the Birds of Canada guide, which cost a dollar and ten cents. The boy had to collect the required amount for several months to purchase the treasured book. Imagine his disappointment when he found out that there were many inaccuracies in it. Then Ernest began to add his own amendments and additions to the book, which served as the beginning for the first independently compiled guide to the birds of Canada.
When difficulties arose with the household, the family moved to Toronto. Here Ernest graduated from art college. All school teachers praised Ernest: “Your son is the first student. But his success in drawing is especially amazing! If you help his talent develop, he will become a great artist and glorify your family throughout the world!”
His father believed that the profession of naturalist that Ernest dreamed of had neither future nor prospects. Although the family lived very poorly, he managed to send his son to the Royal Academy of London. They taught there for free and gave a small stipend. But it was quite difficult to get there. Ernest entered only a year later, when his drawing entered the competition.
Seton-Thompson was given a student ID card engraved on an ivory plate. The young man learned that next to the museum where he often worked, there was the world's largest scientific library, which housed a huge collection of books on natural history. Entrance to the library was free, but persons under twenty-one years of age were not allowed. Ernest asked to be given a library card, but the attendant said that they had famous academicians studying there, and members of the museum’s board had established strict rules.
Tell me the names of the board members! - asked the young man.
Please: Prince of Wales, Archbishop of Canterbury.
There were seven people on the board in total, and these were the greatest men in England. Seton-Thompson wrote a long letter to each of them. He talked about himself, his dreams and explained why it was so important for him to become a reader of the British Museum Library. Three days later, he received seven polite responses - from each of the board members. They all promised to discuss his request. And two weeks later the director of the library invited him and gave him not just a simple, but a lifetime membership card!
Many years passed when wonderful stories about animals first appeared: “Animals I Have Known”, “Animal Heroes”. Their creator died in 1946, at the age of 86, having lived a long life full of good deeds, and his books were loved by children and adults in many countries around the world. The stories are accompanied by witty and expressive drawings by the author. They contain a lot of informative information about the habits of animals and their struggle for existence.
Particularly fascinating are the stories about the strong, dexterous and brave Lobo - the leader of a pack of gray wolves that devastated the Currumpo Valley, about the wild horse - the lively and elusive handsome mustang pacer, about the crow killed by an owl, about the inspired singer Randy the sparrow, about the black fox Domino and the Royal Analostanke.
There is an interesting story in this book about the heroic pigeon Arno, who broke many glorious records. One day he flew a report over the sea, in the fog, two hundred and ten miles in four hours and forty minutes. The letter was rolled up, wrapped in waterproof paper, addressed to the Steamship Company and attached to the underside of the tail feathers. Arno's heroic feat was included in the lists of the Pigeon Club.
But the bird's life was too short: he was in a hurry to get home, flying low as the wind rose. The falcons were catching a weak, tired dove. “In one minute it was all over. The pigeon keepers squealed with joy. Squealing in the air, they soared onto their rock, holding in their claws the pigeon’s body - all that was left of the fearless little Arno.”
From Seton-Thompson's book you can find out who a pacer is. “I saw a herd of mustangs going to water at Antelope Spring. There are also a couple of foals there. One small, black one is handsome, a born pacer. I chased him for about two miles, and he kept ahead the whole time and never lost his trot. I deliberately drove the horses for fun, but I never knocked him off his amble!”
Such horses are not suitable for peasant farming. But a mustang is a wild horse. And so the hero of the story “Mustang the pacer” greatly annoys the cowboys, taking their domestic mares with him. They try to herd the stallion, but they fail to catch him. How much will, strength and courage he showed in defending his freedom!
In the story "Royal Analostanka", the cats of Scrimper Lane are fed by a man with a wheelbarrow. He takes out pieces of fragrant boiled liver from the drawer. Each cat grabs a piece and runs away to enjoy its prey in a safe haven.
All the cats are well known to the liver seller: here is a cat whose owner carefully contributes his ten cents a week, but John Washie's cat receives a smaller piece because John is late in payment, the innkeeper's rat-catcher, decorated with a collar and bows, receives an additional portion as a reward for the owner's generosity. But the black cat with a white nose is mercilessly pushed away. She doesn't understand what happened. Only the seller of the liver knows well what the matter is: its owner has stopped paying him.
Cats who were not on the lists of the aristocracy waited at a respectful distance. Among them was one stray cat, which is becoming the main character story. Her story is the story of Cinderella. But only for cats!
Many of Seton-Thompson's stories end tragically. For example, “Domino. The story of one black and brown fox." A father fox, returning home with a kill for five cubs, and his girlfriend are pursued by hunters. When Domino realizes that Belogrudka is exhausted, he bravely rushes towards the dog to lead her away from the hole.
There are stories with a good ending. The hunter has been trying to drive down the huge deer of the Sandy Hills for several seasons, and finally he succeeds. We must shoot. “The deer stood like a statue. He stood and looked straight into Ian's eyes with his large, truthful eyes. The gun trembled in Ian’s hand. He raised it and lowered it again...”
Reading the works of Seton-Thompson, you will notice that the author endows animals with human properties. His heroes think and feel like humans. This is called anthropomorphism. The writer was a supporter of such ideas about living nature.
Read an essay by Vasily Peskov about his acquaintance with the writer’s books and his trip to his homeland.
Vasily Peskov
Lifelong friend
If you asked me which of the books I read as a child had the greatest influence on me, I would immediately say: “Animal Heroes” by Seton-Thompson.
Almost everyone in our country reads this book as a child. It was published dozens of times under this and other titles. It left a grateful memory for everyone who read it. For me, the book was a whole event.
Life was just beginning for me then. And the most interesting place in it was a river, marshy chaplygas, an alder forest, a wet meadow with yellow wagtails, waders and lapwings. The day in childhood is long, but it was not enough to run around this great kingdom. In the evenings, the already half-asleep traveler’s mother, reprimanding him for leaving the heifer unattended and for the holes in his newly sewn shirt, steamed his chicks with sour cream. (Pimples, for those who don’t know, are a disease of village boys: from constant climbing in the swamps, the dried mud on the feet finely cracked along with the skin.) It was a good time! And then someone’s smart, attentive hand placed a book called “Hero Animals” on the nine-year-old “naturalist.”
Only now, having already gray hair, do you understand how important it is to throw the right grain into the ground in time. Over the next forty years, I probably have not read a more necessary book than this one. Everything in the book was simple, clear and very relatable. Pigeons, cats, horses, wolves, foxes, sparrows, mice, dogs, tits - everything is familiar and at the same time new, unusual. The pictures in the book were also special. They were placed on sheets of paper on the side. There were many of them: someone’s footprints, dropped feathers, an extinguished fire, wolf eyes looking out of the darkness with two lights, some kind of flower, a hut, a string of geese, a cow skull, a trap... These drawings are still in my memory, and I can name them one by one. Reading the book, I experienced a strange feeling, as if everything that was drawn and written in it, I had seen myself on our river, in the forest, in the chaplygs, in the yard. The book seemed to me like a treasure that should have been placed under the pillow. I re-read it for the third, fourth time. I even remember the smell of it, the smell of yellow paper that had been lying around for a long time with notes written in blue pencil...
Later, from the pictures in the wide margins, I immediately recognized the books that were dear to me, I found and read everything that could be found. “Animals I Have Known”, “From the Life of the Persecuted”, “Mustang Pacer”, “Rolf in the Woods”, “Little Savages”. I learned that the writer and artist of all these books are the same person - Seton-Thompson. I also learned that the heroes of the books - the wolves Tito, Lobo and Blanca, the pigeon Arno, the fox Domino, the rabbit Jack, the dog Chink, the Indian Chaska - were known and dear not only to me.
Even later, re-reading Seton-Thompson with an experienced eye, I felt this man’s enormous knowledge and love for nature, extraordinary authenticity in every word and in every drawing. Now I began to become interested in the author himself and realized: behind the books there is a bright, interesting human life. I made inquiries in the library: is there anything about Seton-Thompson? The old librarian said: “Just a minute...” and returned with a small book. “My life,” I read on the cover... The same style - a narrow set, and on wide margins there are drawings: a hut, wolf tracks, a running elk, a locomotive drowned in the snow, a rider on a horse among the prairies...
I read the book overnight, turning the last pages in the morning light. This second meeting with Seton-Thompson was more serious than his childhood date. I found out: the writer was born and spent his childhood in Canada, lived and worked in New York, but was burdened by the city and finally left for the wild, uninhabited places of America.
What was important for me was the discovery: a man lived happy life because he worked tirelessly and did what he loved. The book also opened my eyes to the fact that it is very difficult to feel “your purpose” and then follow it. Life is a continuous exam; it does not spare those who retreat and stumble. But perseverance, faith and courage do not go without reward...
Forty years ago, could I have thought that I would see the Seton-Thompson house, I would see the table at which the writer worked, I would see his paintings, drawings, the worn-out pencil that fell from his hand in 1946. I will see my daughter and his grandchildren. Could I think?
But that's exactly what happened in 1972. Traveling around America, my friend and I found a village in New Mexico called Seaton Village (“Seton Village.” We say Seton, Americans say Seaton) and spent the whole day in the house of a person dear to me.
Seton-Thompson built the house himself, with his own hands, to his own taste. His adopted daughter Di Barbara and four grandchildren now live there.
I walked around this scrap with excitement, touching things that once surrounded the writer, leafing through his books, looking at the originals of such familiar drawings made in ink on thick paper. I was shown a considerable feather dress, given to Seton-Thompson by his Indian friends, and I saw the place where he sat talking with the Indians.
And at this table he died. I sat and worked. “And suddenly he dropped his pencil,” said Di Barbara.
The writer’s grandchildren, children just like ours, listened attentively to the conversation. They were interested to know: somewhere far away their grandfather was known and loved.
We really love and know this wonderful naturalist writer. His books introduced many people to the world of nature from childhood, helped them understand and love this world, and helped some people choose a path in life. And this happened to several generations of people. The books of this remarkable nature writer, artist and scientist do not age.
Literature
1. Voskoboynikov V. When Seton-Thompson was little (On the 140th anniversary of his birth) / Bonfire. - 2000. - No. 8.
2. Korotkova M.S. "I went my own path..." E. Seton-Thompson. "My Life" and "Little Savages". V grade / Literature at school. - 2010. - No. 1.
3. Peskov V. Friend for life / Young naturalist. - 1983. - No. 7.
4. Seton-Thompson E. My life. Little savages. - M.: Politizdat, 1991.
5. Solovey T.G. "Little Hero" by E. Seton-Thompson. Lesson-game based on the story "Chink". V grade / Literature lessons. - 2005. - No. 11.
6. Chudakova M. About animals / Reader. - 2006. - No. 6.
Canadian writer Ernest Seton-Thompson published his first collection of short stories, called Animals I Have Known, two years before the start of the new 20th century. The collection stunned readers and was reprinted several times. A new, mysterious, incomprehensible world opened up to those who read this book.
Childhood and youth
Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860 - 1946) was born in Britain. But his family's roots were in Scotland. Stories about glorious hunting successes were passed down from generation to generation. The family was wealthy: the father was a shipowner and transported goods all over the world. But then things got worse for his father, and six years after Ernest’s birth, the head of the family moved his family to Canada. At first they lived in the town of Lindsay, and after 4 years they moved to Toronto. Then it was a small town surrounded by forests. This had a very strong impact on the teenager. Seton-Thompson was not the only one who attended school. The biography contains facts that he ran into the forest or field and watched birds, looked at flowers and herbs.
The book you need
Returning home from school, Ernest took the longest route to admire the store windows where paintings of animals, fox heads, deer antlers and many other interesting things were displayed. One day he saw the book “Birds of Canada”. But it was incredibly expensive - a whole dollar. Ernest saved money for a month and a half and was finally able to run to a bookstore and become the owner of the treasured book. But here’s the problem: the book did not reveal the secrets of nature to the young naturalist. Only years later did Seton-Thompson, whose biography is so fascinating, realize that it was a pseudoscientific work. This story is in the story "Little Savages".
Learning to draw
The father did not approve of his son's hobby - observing the life of nature. He insisted that Ernest begin to learn drawing. The young man graduated from art school with a gold medal and went to London in 1879 to continue his art education. There he studied for only four incomplete years and, due to lack of money, returned home.
But the ability to draw was useful to the zoologist and naturalist. Seton-Thompson himself, whose biography is described in this article, will subsequently illustrate all of his books. His drawings are not only accurate, but also demonstrate the character of the birds and animals depicted. And the author’s attitude towards them is always full of love and humor.
Naturalist and writer
The passion for natural science that Seton-Thompson developed as a child led him on the high road in life. Despite everything, he achieved success both in science and in literary work. He wrote a lot scientific works in zoology, then began to be published regularly art books. Seton-Thompson traveled around the United States reading his stories. His biography is the biography of a man passionately in love with all life on earth, unraveling the unknown in the life of birds and animals. He tried to tell people about them. As a writer, Seton-Thompson was a huge success with both young and adult readers. He was not afraid to show true life in all its cruelty. Often you want to shed tears when your favorite hero dies at the end.
Seton-Thompson believed that children should not be deceived by sweet fairy tales. The writer's stories are honest and, no matter how tragic the death of the hero is, the reader returns to memories of his best features. This is what makes him immortal. The worthy death of the leader of the pack of wolves Lobo, cunning and clever, causes genuine regret. As well as the ridiculous death of the Scottish Shepherd Bingo. In the story “In the Footsteps of a Deer” the ending is happy. The hunter could not raise his hand and kill the noble animal.
Seton-Thompson organized the League of Forest Craftsmen in 1906, the purpose of which was to study and protect wild animals. He dreamed of a harmonious life between man and nature.
Seton-Thompson died at the age of 86 and was cremated. Years later, his ashes were scattered over the hills of New Mexico.
(1860-1946) American writer and naturalist
There are writers who did not create major works and yet had a huge influence on the development of literature. Ernest Seton-Thompson is one of them. His merit lies in the fact that he was one of the first to truthfully describe the world and habits of wild animals. It is from him that the animalistic genre originates in literature.
Although Ernest Seton-Thompson is considered American writer, he was born far from America, in the small English town of Southshield. His father was a successful shipowner. However, the year Ernest turned five, his affairs began to deteriorate, and he decided to seek his fortune overseas.
The first years of Ernest Seton-Thompson's parents lived on a farm near the city of Lindsay. This time was forever remembered by Ernest as the happiest of all his childhood years. For the first time, the boy found himself among the wild and spent all his free time in fields and forests, although, of course, he did not remain ignorant. Over the years, he learned to write and read and even started going to school.
In 1870, the life of the Thompson family changed dramatically. They moved to Canada and settled in Toronto. There the father began working in the city government, sending his children to school. Moving to the city did not change Ernest's relationship with nature. He tried to spend every free minute outside the city or in the park. In one of the secluded corners of the park, the boy built himself a hut in which he spent all his free hours. This small hut became his second home. He made friends with animals, fed stray dogs and cats, and observed their lives and habits. Later, childhood impressions will be reflected in his story “The Royal Analostanka,” in which the writer told the story of an ordinary cat.
City life did not do the boy any good: after five years his health deteriorated greatly, and doctors advised him to send Ernest to nature. The parents wrote to the new owners of their farm, and they agreed that Ernest would come to live with them, settling him with their children. Interesting life on the farm was subsequently described by Thompson in the book “Little Savages”.
Returning home to the city a year later, Ernest Seton-Thompson continued his studies at school and soon graduated with a certificate of merit. However, overwork affected his health. He fell ill again and, instead of going to university, went back to the farm. But this time the wild nature and clean air did not help him. Ernest's health deteriorated so much that he was forced to return to the city for serious treatment.
After recovery, the young man began to take lessons from the artist, since by that time he had firmly decided to enter the art school. After his first year, Ernest received a gold medal, which allowed him to go to London to improve his skills. There Thompson entered the Royal School of Painting and Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts. He studied well and soon became one of the best students at the academy. In those same years, Ernest had another significant event. The director of the British Museum saw his drawings, and they shocked him so much that he gave the young man a lifelong certificate to visit all the museum’s storage facilities and library so that he could draw animals.
It was during this time that Thompson developed an interest in ornithology. He began to read a lot about birds, studied all their species, redrew pictures, drew them from memory and from life. However, continuous studies and a half-starved existence again undermined his already poor health. And the doctors again advised him to stop studying and return home to Canada. Ernest had nothing to live on there, so he had to take on any job just to earn money. But most of all he loved making drawings for greeting cards.
Soon Thompson's health improved and he moved to a farm that belonged to his brother. It was there that Ernest Seton-Thompson met the heroes of his works. While on the farm he wrote his first book, An Illustrated Description of the Birds of Manitoba. The publication of this book became a real event in the scientific world.
Thompson met leading American scientists and received an order to make drawings for an encyclopedic dictionary on zoology. This was followed by the fundamental encyclopedia “Identification of the Birds of America” and the book “Mammals of Manitoba”.
While engaged in illustrations, Seton-Thompson also found time to paint large paintings. With the money he received, he went to Europe and exhibited his painting “Sleeping Wolf” at a large art salon in Paris, which was enthusiastically received by critics. Thompson expected fame and glory here, especially since few artists before him had taken on the depiction of wildlife and wild animals. But he did not stay in Europe and soon returned to the United States.
In 1893, Seton-Thompson exhibited several paintings at the International Exhibition in Chicago. Seeing them, US President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to meet with the artist and ordered him a portrait of the leader wolf. This painting is now on display in the Theodore Roosevelt Gallery.
That same year, the largest American publisher, Scribner, approached Thompson. He invited the artist to publish a book of his stories with his own drawings. The success of Thompson's first book, My Wild Friends, exceeded all expectations. It was not only republished several times, but also almost immediately translated into foreign languages.
Now fame and prosperity came to Thompson. He buys a villa near the city of Santa Fe, where he settles with his adopted daughter Dee. Ernest Seton-Thompson transports his extensive library there, as well as a kind of zoological museum: photographs, sketches of animals and birds, stuffed animals, samples of skins and bird eggs.
Based on the materials from his collections, he first published the book “The Life of Northern Animals”, and then the fundamental encyclopedia “The Life of Wild Animals”. For the first of them, Ernest Seton-Thompson receives the highest award of American naturalists - the gold Bonfire Medal, and for the second - the gold Elliott Medal, America's highest award for scientific work.
The writer lived in his villa for several decades and died in 1946.
Biography
Seton-Thompson
(Seton Thompson) Ernest (14/8/1860, South Shields, UK - 23/10/1946, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA), Canadian writer, animal artist, naturalist. In 1879 he graduated from the Toronto College of Art. He lived for a long time in forests and prairies. He wrote about 40 books, mainly about animals. The narrative was accompanied by precise and skillful drawings. He devoted several books to the life and folklore of Indians and Eskimos. The first work of S.-T. - “The Life of a Meadow Grouse” (1883).
His books “Wild Animals as I Know Them” (1898), “The Life of Those Who Are Hunted” (1901), as well as the 8-volume work “The Life of Wild Animals” (1925−27) brought him fame. Published the books “Biography of a Grizzly” (1900), “Birch Bark” (1902), “Book of the Forest” (1912), etc. Scientific accuracy in the books of S.-T. combined with entertaining presentation. He influenced many animal writers.
Ernest Seton-Thompson was born in Great Britain, South Shields, on August 14, 1860. His father, Seton, was noble family. The family moved to Canada when the guy was barely six years old. The father adjusted the force to his wife and son, so Ernest spent most of his time in the forest, sketching and studying its inhabitants. Tired of problems at home, the guy changes his name to Ernest Thompson-Seton (Thompson Seaton). In 1879 he received his education at the Toronto College of Art.
In 1883, the writer published his first work, “The Life of a Meadow Grouse.” Afterwards, thanks to his childhood observations of forest life, he wrote the collections “Wild Animals as I Know Them” in 1898, “The Lives of Those Who Are Hunted” in 1901 and “The Life of Wild Animals” in 1925, which brought Ernest fame in Canada and the USA. The illustrations in the books were handwritten by the writer himself, after all, six years of study fine arts from 1890 to 1896 in Paris were not in vain.
Being a fan of forest life, the poet spends more and more time there. He writes about 40 books, most of which describe the inhabitants of the forest. In a couple of books he described the life of the Eskimos and Indians. Ernest describes the theme of their everyday life and life in the wild in the book “Little Savages”.
Ernest meets a girl, Grace Gallatin, whom he marries in 1896. As a result, their only daughter, Ann, was born on January 23, 1904. After being married for 39 years, Ernest and Grace divorced, and a little later he tied the knot with Julia M. Butry. The couple could not have children of their own, so they decided to adopt, and in 1938, they adopted Beulah (Dee) Seton.
Ernest Seton-Thompson dies in America on October 23, 1946 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was cremated, keeping an urn containing his ashes for fourteen years, and in 1960 his daughter and grandson scattered his ashes from an airplane over the hills of Seaton Village.
