{{short description|American paleoartist}} {{Infobox person | name = John Gurche <!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name --> | image = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing brackets --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|10|30}} | birth_place = Kansas City, Missouri | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|death date†|birth date†}} --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Paleoartist | years_active = | known_for = ''Jurassic Park'' consultant | notable_works = National Museum of Natural History's Hall of Human Origins | website = http://www.gurche.com }}
'''John Gurche''', born 10 October 1951<ref>Dr. William B. Ashworth, Jr., Consultant for the History of Science, Linda Hall Library and Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Missouri-Kansas City ; "[https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/john-gurche/ Scientist of the Day: John Gurche]" ; Linda Hall Library, published 30 October 2018</ref> in Kansas City, Missouri,<ref>Brian McTavish, "[https://kcstudio.org/arts-news-anatomy-of-a-paleo-artist-john-gurche/ Arts News: Anatomy of a Paleo Artist]" ; ''KC Studio''; published 11 December 2019</ref> is an American artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and sketches of prehistoric life, especially dinosaurs and early humans. Gurche is currently an Artist in Residence at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.museumoftheearth.org/about.php?page=dir_staff|title = Staff Directory, Museum of the Earth|date = 2014|accessdate = October 17, 2014|website = Museum of the Earth|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Chris|title=John Gurche, hominid sculptor|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/11/03/john-gurche-hominid-sculptor/8fVd8dsBuoOV3IX1as5iSM/story.html|website=bostonglobe.com|publisher=The Boston Globe|accessdate=9 March 2015}}</ref> Gurche studied Anthropology and Paleontology at the University of Kansas, but his study of art was limited to his days in middle school.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2014-10-16-looking-on-the-past-the-artistry-and-science-of-john-gurche/#.VEFKCeek0y4|title = Looking on the past: The artistry and science of John Gurche|last = Spector|first = J Brooks|date = October 16, 2014|work = Daily Maverick|accessdate = October 17, 2014}}</ref> Also while in middle school, Gurche attempted to create a "family tree for all animal life" and fashioned an evolutionary series of heads from clay while in fourth grade.<ref name="auto"/>
[[File:Paleo-Artist Breathes New Life Into Ancient Humans.webm|left|thumb|VOA report about Gurche's hominid sculptures]] Gurche's works have been on display at the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institution. He has created illustrations for ''National Geographic'',<ref>Diana L. Koepfer. "Representation and aesthetics in Paleo-art: An interview with John Gurche". ''American Anthropologist''. March 2003. Volume 105, Issue 1. 146.</ref> and designed a set of four dinosaur-themed stamps that were released by the US Postal Service in 1989.<ref>Syd Kornish. "'Beauty and the beasts' latest Postal Service tale". ''Telegram & Gazette''. October 15, 1989. B7.</ref> Due to his paintings of dinosaurs, Gurche was given a role as a consultant for the movie ''Jurassic Park''.<ref name="auto"/>
In 2000, he received the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology for his mural of Sue the ''Tyrannosaurus'', a piece which accompanies the dinosaur's skeleton at the Field Museum.<ref>"Local artist honored for T-rex painting". ''Denver Post''. November 12, 2000. A42.</ref>
In 2013 he published a book detailing his work on the fifteen paleoanthropology projects he had completed for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History's Hall of Human Origins titled ''Shaping Humanity: How Science, Art and Imagination Help Us Understand Our Origins ''.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-shaping-humanity/|title = Book Review: Shaping Humanity|last = Feltman|first = Rachel|date = November 19, 2013|work = Scientific American|accessdate = October 17, 2014}}</ref> Much of the book discusses the uncertainty of his work and his field.<ref name="auto"/>
==References== <references />
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.gurche.com/ }} * [http://humanorigins.si.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/gurche-reconstructions Video of John Gurche constructing figures for the Hall of Human Origins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193823/http://humanorigins.si.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/gurche-reconstructions |date=2016-03-04 }} * [https://www.lindahall.org/john-gurche/ Scientist of the Day-John Gurche] at Linda Hall Library
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurche, John}} Category:Living people Category:Paleoartists Category:University of Kansas alumni Category:21st-century American sculptors Category:21st-century American male artists Category:20th-century American sculptors Category:20th-century American male artists Category:American male sculptors Category:American stamp designers Category:1951 births
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