Lynn Bogue Hunt (1877-1960) was an American artist, widely regarded as the most popular and prolific outdoor illustrator in mid-20th century America. He painted a record 106 covers for Field & Stream in addition to numerous covers for other publications, illustrated dozens of books on waterfowling, upland bird hunting, and saltwater fishing, and published several portfolios of his paintings to enormous acclaim.
Born in Honeoye Falls, New York (near Rochester) on May 11, 1878, Hunt grew up in Albion, Michigan. He kept a menagerie of wild pets; spent as much time as he could hunting, observing nature, and simply tramping around outdoors; learned taxidermy when he was in his teens; and sketched constantly from the time he was a little boy. While still in high school he took painting lessons from a professor at Albion College, and in 1897, while a student at Albion himself, he made his debut on the national stage with “A King of Game Birds,” a ruffed grouse story for Sports Afield, which he both wrote and illustrated.
In 1903, after honing his skills for three years as a staff artist at the Detroit Free Press, Hunt moved to New York City, where he hung out his shingle as a freelance illustrator and never looked back. His portfolio of 18 upland gamebirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl, Our American Game Birds, published in 1917, proved to be a big success with sportsmen, placed Hunt on the map and firmly established him as the gamebird artist of his time.
He went on to illustrate a number of other hunting and fishing books, including Grouse Feathers (1935) and More Grouse Feathers (1938), Burton Spiller’s classic stories about America’s favorite upland game bird, which became two of Hunt’s best-known books.
Hunt passed away at his home in western Long Island on October 12, 1960, aged 83.
