William Neave Parker Orange-tip Butterfly among Buttercups

William Neave Parker (1910–1961)

William Neave Parker (1910–1961) used his talent for drawing and love of wildlife to show natural history imagery to a non-specialist audience. He is particularly known for his work for the Natural History Museum in London illustrating prehistoric flora and fauna and his reconstructions of dinosaurs.

Characteristically, Parker paints with beautiful precision and detail, in an appealing and engaging composition, whilst his presentation is also underpinned by scientific theory and an instructive purpose.

After an early career in banking and having served with the RAF during World War II, Parker made the acquaintance of Maurice Burton, a scientific associate at the Natural History Museum in London and honorary science editor at the Illustrated London News. With a shared desire to bring natural history to a non-technical readership, the pair collaborated on a series of drawings of prehistoric animals, first published in the Illustrated London News in 1950.

Burton then introduced Parker to William Elgin Swinton (1900–1994), palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum, and thereafter Parker worked on series of illustrations for the museum. Of particular note were a series of Jurassic and Cretaceous animals which were published in the Illustrated London News between 1956 and 1960. He also produced book illustrations and linocut and wood engraving prints.