Rex Brasher
Rex Brasher (1869–1960) is one of America's great bird artists. His vast body of work — including nearly a thousand original paintings and lyrical descriptions of every bird species in North America — has remained largely unknown to the public for the past half-century.
An identity for The Rex Brasher Association was created to help support ongoing archival and preservation work of the artist's life and career.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Rex became passionate about birds at an early age. He was influenced by his father, who was an avid naturalist and bird taxidermist. At the age of eight, Rex decided he would one day paint every bird in North America, from life, in their natural habitats. And he did.
Rex lived in Dutchess County, NY, for more than fifty years. He is seen here on the porch of his home, which still stands in what he called "Chickadee Valley".
Read more via The Rex Brasher Association→
Exhibition of Rex Brasher paintings at National Geographic Explorers Hall, Washington, D.C., 1939.
Lithographic prints by Rex Brasher, scanned from Birds and Trees of North America, Volume 7, Plate 467 (left) and Volume 9, Plate 529a–529b (above), respectively.
See more archival scans→
Over the course of our team's research, we discovered that Rex was not only a naturally born painter, but had an inherent skill as a letterer.
His distinct letterforms repeatedly showed up on book covers, illustrative commentary, and personalized stationery (seen above). These qualities translated into a new interpretation of his lettering style, through the lens of what he might have done with the digital typographic tools of today.
Type design by Emily Atwood→.
A range of collateral pieces were designed to support the ongoing needs of the Association, which are necessary for fundraising, promoting events, and planning for future initiatives.
In addition to a custom wordmark, the typographic system is supported by La Nord, designed by Raoul Gottschling→.
