Robert Muma Illustrates The World of Mosses
February 11, 2010 by Tania Marien
Source: Clipart ETC
Robert Muma (1907-1993) became a natural science illustrator at a very early age. As a child, he was encouraged to draw all that he observed in nature. Not only did this make him a fine illustrator, but a fine biologist as well. His solid understanding of flora and fauna earned him a position as a scientific illustrator in the biology department at the University of Toronto. After retiring from careers in illustration and bookbinding, Muma turned his attention to mosses. He began to collect specimens and eventually wrote and illustrated
A Graphic Guide to Ontario Mosses in 1985. This guide contains an overview of moss morphology, moss classification, and an
illustrated guide to mosses organized by
leaf arrangement, growth habit, and
sporophyte type. Muma also organized the mosses of Ontario by habitat and provides a glossary of the generic names to Ontario mosses and includes Greek and Latin roots for each name. A short section about collecting and about moss gardening close this 28-page guide. Muma’s illustrations of mosses are both lively and delicate. To see additional examples of his artwork and to learn more about mosses, read
Discovering The Mosses, an article he wrote in 1979 for
Ontario Naturalist magazine. Here is a quick look at two
illustrations in this article, which serves as a fine example of how art can be used to engage the public in the natural world.
Travel over to the World of Mosses and you will learn a lot about Robert Muma and his work. Muma’s field guide and reproductions of his original watercolor paintings are still available for all to admire, thanks to his son Walter Muma. Artwork is available as posters and as notecards.
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