In the Company of Dinosaurs

We know. The mere thought of going out to look at nature illustrations carries that doomed whiff of “educational value.” Charles R. Knight, however, is a pop culture icon. Well, practically. The post-Victorian natural history painter set the standard for paleo-illustration with his scientifically accurate re-creations of prehistoric species, but there’s also a deliciously retro, H. Rider Haggard-meets-Edgar Rice Burroughs ambience to his raging tyrannosauri and Paleolithic sunsets. Knight’s punctilious yet lushly romantic work graces natural history museums throughout the country and has enthralled children, dinosaur freaks and FX wizards for decades; his mural of the La Brea Tar Pits is a beloved fixture at the Natural History Museum. The last substantial exhibit of Knight’s work in Los Angeles was in 1987, but drawings, sculpture and paintings, including the original painting of the La Brea Tar Pits, are on view jointly at two area museums. You’ll find yourself anthropomorphizing, but we won’t tell the science teacher.

“Bringing Fossils to Life: the Art of Charles R. Knight,” Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 934-PAGE; Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Exposition Park, (213) 763-DINO, both through May 30.