Melvin Johansen

Melvin Johansen was born in Oakland, California, in 1915 and currently resides in Oregon with his wife, Darleen. Johansen always had an interest in art and archaeology, and this interest has led him to various ancient sites. During World War II, Johansen worked on delicate optical and aircraft instruments at the Alameda Naval Base. After the war, Johansen traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico taking photographs of and collecting specimens, becoming well known as wildlife photographer. He worked Snow Museum of Natural History, in his hometown of Oakland, as an apprentice taxidermist, and departed that institution as the senior curator when he retired in 1972 in order to devote all of his time to sculpting big game animals.