Hugh Cott (1900-1987) was a distinguished scientist with real artistic talent. He too illustrated his own book, the marvellously-written Adaptive Coloration in Animals, the best book on camouflage ever written, or likely to be now that science has moved so far from descriptive natural history. Also like Hardy, he managed to carry on doing the work he loved, in contact with nature, science and art, through war and peace, inspiring many people in the process.

Sir Alister Hardy (1896-1985) was one of those rare and lucky men who convincingly straddled C.P. Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’, being both a famous scientist and very comfortable with art. He made use of his artistic skill to paint elegant illustrations of the fish that he loved for his own books. He went on the Discovery expedition of the 1920s to explore the mysteries of the animals of the Antarctic ocean, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society. His writing, however technical, is suffused with delight in nature (especially fish).