The Habitat Views video considers ways of looking at dioramas today, and documents the creation of several new displays. Take a look over on our YouTube channel >
Frank Joseph MacKenzie (1865-1939) was born in London, England, where he studied at the Royal Academy and won the Turner gold medal and a traveling fellowship. He later studied in Paris at Académie Julian. After spending some time in southern Africa, he came to the United States to design the Boer War exhibit at the St Louis World's Fair of 1904. He moved to San Francisco in 1910 but also maintained a studio-home in Washington, DC. He painted dioramas at many museums across the United States including the Hall of Sciences and African Hall in Golden Gate Park (San Francisco), American Museum of Natural History, Springfield (Massachusetts) Museum, and the Trenton (New Jersey) Museum. He was the husband of artist Florence Bryant MacKenzie and died in San Francisco.