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JOHN H. DICK
(1919 - 1995)

Mr. Dick often deserted his plantation in the low coastal country of South Carolina, to travel here, there, and everywhere photographing birds and animals. He went all over the United States, to East Africa, the Galapagos Islands, India, Scotland, the Bahamas, Tierra del Fuego, and the Palmer Peninsula of Antarctica.

When he returned home he had more than enough reference material for his paintings and if he should ever have run out of photographs, there were always the many birds he keept in aviaries and open pens at the plantation. He had about 40 species of ducks, including Baikal Teal, Laysan Teal, Falcated Ducks, New Zealand Scaup, Mandarin Ducks, and five kinds of tree ducks. Some of the other permanent boarders were 18 species of geese and swans, pheasants, peafowl, and undoubtedly some migratory guests mingling with the yearlong residents.

Aviculture was a hobby that Mr. Dick maintained for many years. He was born on May 12, 1919 and raised in Islip, Long Island, New York where even as a small child he had a respectable collection of both American and foreign wild ducks, pheasants, quail, and geese. He also did quite a bit of drawing, but only for fun and not with any idea of ever becoming an artist.

Mr. Dick was in the Air Corps and after his separation in 1947 he went to live on the plantation which had once belonged to his mother. At this time he began drawing birds professionally, both on commission and as illustrations for magazine articles and books.

Some of the books he illustrated are South Carolina Bird Life by Sprunt and Chamberlain, University of South Carolina Press 1949; Florida Bird Life by Sprunt, Coward- McCann, Inc.; Warblers of America by Sprunt and Griscom, Devin-Adair Co. 1957; A Gathering of Shore Birds by H. M. Hall, Bramhall House 1959; Carolina Low Country Impressions by Alexander Sprunt, Devin-Adair Co. 1964; and The Bird Watchers of America, Edited by Olin S. Pettingill, McGraw-Hill Book Co. 1966.

Mr. Dick was as absorbed in photography as he was in painting; in fact, if one asked him about his artwork on telephone, he would say, "I'm really a photographer." He excelled, wearing either hat, mainly because the requirements of both professions are the same, aside from the technicalities: a good eye, a steady hand, and above all, an appreciation of beauty.