Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Serving as a collector and artist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes accompanied Vernon Bailey, a mammalogist, Florence Bailey and Henry Oberholser, ornithologists, on a 1901 tour of the Trans-Pecos for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey. In addition to being one of the most celebrated American wildlife artists, Fuertes is believed to be the first to spend extended time in the Trans-Pecos (Casto 2007). During this trip, Fuertes collected specimens and prepared detailed field sketches and watercolor paintings, many of which appear in Oberholser’s The Bird Life of Texas.