James Culbertson McConnell,[1] usually abbreviated as J. C. McConnell (born 1844[1] – died July 25, 1904, Liberty, New York) was one of the world's most acclaimed scientific illustrators.
McConnell was an anatomist with the Army Medical Museum in Washington, D.C. For thirty-five years, he drew "many thousand exquisite drawings" of fossils, shells and bones for scientific publications. In an obituary, it was stated that, "as a draughtsman, in black and white line for scientific purposes, he had no equal in this country, if in the world."[2]
McConnell's illustrations continued to be used long after his death. For example, most of the black and white illustrations in R. Tucker Abbott's American Seashells (1954) were by McConnell.[5]
McConnell has been described as "one of those shadowy-figured artisans about whom little is known." Although he held a medical degree and used the title "doctor", "officially he was a clerk."[4]
