1878 – 1960
Born in Honeoye Falls, New York, (near Rochester) in 1878, Lynn Bogue Hunt mostly grew up in Albion, Michigan. With the support and encouragement of his mother, who’d left Hunt’s rainbow-chasing dad back in New York, 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.
Angler, hunter, and above all artist, Lynn Bogue Hunt was 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 (not coincidentally, his three main interests as a sportsman); and published several portfolios of his paintings to enormous acclaim.
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 that he both wrote and illustrated.
Still, it wasn’t until 1924, when he began his remarkable run at Field & Stream, that he truly arrived. Every year from 1924 through 1947 Hunt did as many as seven and never fewer than two covers for F&S. He also provided sketches and line drawings, literally by the hundreds, to illustrate various articles for the magazine.