Skip to main contentBiographyAs a child, Paul Bransom taught himself to draw at home and at the zoo. Leaving school at the age of 13, he apprenticed to Marion Fowler, creating mechanical drawings for patent applications. Bransom was fascinated with birds and frequented Schmidt's Bird Shop, which had a variety of birds as well as snakes, ferrets, and weasels. He even had his own pigeon coop with chickens and a game rooster in the backyard.
In 1903, Bransom moved to New York and accepted a job, illustrating for the New Dodd-Mead Encyclopedia. Bransom shared a studio with illustrator Sigurd Schow and later became a freelance artist, selling his works to newspapers and magazines. The New York Evening Journal hired him to continue Gus Dirk's comic strip, "The Latest News from Bugville." While drawing cartoons, he frequently traveled to Washington, D.C., to visit his family. He often studied at the Washington Zoo and attended classes at the Corcoran School of Art. The Saturday Evening Post's purchase of four paintings for their cover jumpstarted his career as a wildlife illustrator. Bransom was also hired to illustrate stories and covers for Ladies Home Journal, Country Gentleman, Century, and Good Housekeeping. Beginning in 1947, Bransom spent sixteen summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He met many other artists and illustrators in Jackson and together they taught classes and started the Teton Artists Associated. Bransom was a member of the Kit Kat Club, the Salmagundi Club, and the Boone and Crockett Club.
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Paul Bransom
United States, 1885 - 1979
In 1903, Bransom moved to New York and accepted a job, illustrating for the New Dodd-Mead Encyclopedia. Bransom shared a studio with illustrator Sigurd Schow and later became a freelance artist, selling his works to newspapers and magazines. The New York Evening Journal hired him to continue Gus Dirk's comic strip, "The Latest News from Bugville." While drawing cartoons, he frequently traveled to Washington, D.C., to visit his family. He often studied at the Washington Zoo and attended classes at the Corcoran School of Art. The Saturday Evening Post's purchase of four paintings for their cover jumpstarted his career as a wildlife illustrator. Bransom was also hired to illustrate stories and covers for Ladies Home Journal, Country Gentleman, Century, and Good Housekeeping. Beginning in 1947, Bransom spent sixteen summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He met many other artists and illustrators in Jackson and together they taught classes and started the Teton Artists Associated. Bransom was a member of the Kit Kat Club, the Salmagundi Club, and the Boone and Crockett Club.
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