Taxidermy is the art of preparing and preserving the skins and skeletons of animals and mounting them so as to present the appearance, attitude and habits of the living animal. Advances in 19th century taxidermy led to more naturalistic zoological displays and the consequent emergence of the concept of the habitat diorama in natural history museums. The most prominent taxidermist in the United States was Carl Akeley (1864 – 1926). After training at Wards Natural Science Establishment, Akeley served as a taxidermist at the Milwaukee Public Museum starting in 1886. A decade later, he joined the Field Museum of Natural HIstory in Chicago serving as its chief taxidermist until 1909. Among his early achievements was “Four Seasons of the Deer,” completed in 1902. It features the Virginia Deer (Odocoileus virginianus borealis), and consists of four dioramas in glass cabinets, each depicting a family group of deer and their changing seasonal habitats: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.