Paleoart. Visions of the Prehistoric Past (45th Anniversary Edition)

It was 1830 when an English scientist named Henry De la Beche painted the first piece of paleoart, a dazzling, deliciously macabre vision of prehistoric reptiles battling underwater. Since then, artists the world over have conjured up visions of dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, cavemen, and other creatures, shaping our understanding of the primeval past through their exhilarating images.

In this book, writer Zoë Lescaze and artist Walton Ford present the astonishing history of paleoart from 1830 to 1990. These are not cave paintings produced thousands of years ago, but modern visions of prehistory: stunning paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, mosaics, and murals that mingle scientific fact with unbridled fantasy. The collection provides an in-depth look at this neglected niche of art history and shows how the artists charged with imagining extinct creatures often projected their own aesthetic whims onto prehistory, rendering the primordial past with dashes of Romanticism, Impressionism, Japonisme, Fauvism, and Art Nouveau, among other influences.

With an incisive essay from Lescaze, a preface by Ford, and dozens of images and details, the book showcases a stunning collection of artworks culled from major natural history museums, obscure archives, and private collections, and includes photography of key works, including Charles R. Knight’s seminal paintings in Chicago and little-known masterpieces such as A. M. Belashov’s monumental mosaic in Moscow. From the fearsome to the fantastical, Paleoart is a celebration of prehistoric animals in art, and a novel chance to understand our favorite extinct beasts through an art historical lens.

About the series
TASCHEN turns 45! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. In 2020, we celebrate 45 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 45 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program―now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production

Author/Artist: Walton Ford / Zoë Lescaze
Publisher: Taschen Books
Page Count: 400pp
Size: 6.5 x 9 x 1.75
Notes: hardcover, color, 45th Anniversary Edition
Date of Publication: November 24, 2026
ISBN: 978-3754406076