Art

Seton was keen to emphasize the importance of having an avocation to complement one’s vocation. His vocation was Art, as demanded by his father, and his avocation was as a naturalist. He studied under Charlotte Schreiber at the new Ontario School of Art in Toronto, briefly at the Royal Academy of Art and later sought advice from Joseph Wolf in London. In 1892, he went to Paris and enrolled at Academie Julian and was tutored by his friend Henry Mosler. He was a classmate of to-be well known American artists Robert Henri, Irving Couse, E. W. Redfield, A. Williamson, and Louis Loeb, among others.

He also developed life-long friendships with several artists, especially during his time in Paris, who became among the most respected artists of his day, such as Robert Henri, the noted American painter originally identified with impressionism and later the pioneer of the Ashcan School of American Realism.

He always had a special interest in wolves and painted a series of masterpiece-level works while studying in Paris.

Seton was a prolific illustrator, illustrating his own books along with others, including the Century Dictionary and Bird-Life by Frank M. Chapman.

Seton’s work is held in many museums and private collections. The largest collection is held in the National Scouting Museum in Cimarron, NM, which also holds the Seton Memorial Library.

Another collection is held in the Seton Gallery at the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe.

Other works are in the collections at the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo, the Bruce Museum, and many others.