a flaming-red light near the tip of its tail,
devouring a giant lanternfish. The stark
black background Else painted added an
eerie mood to the scene, emphasizing the
absolute darkness of the ocean’s depths.
Else Bostelmann sought out nature’s
secrets, working side-by-side with scientists
to research her subjects’ prey and ecosystems.
An innovative artist, she developed her own
techniques, using pen and ink, oil paints,
and watercolors to create haunting, vibrant
paintings that came alive in viewers’ eyes.
Her work, shared in national newspapers and
magazines, fascinated readers and inspired
future oceanographers, including undersea
explorer Jacques Cousteau and famed marine
biologist Eugenie Clark. Combining her pas-
sion for both art and science, Else revealed the
wonders hidden beneath the sea, “a world that
is real, but more fantastic than anything that
can be imagined.”
UNDERWATER ARTIST
To create her stunning illustrations, Else relied
on William Beebe’s descriptions of what he saw
through the window of his bathysphere. She
longed, however, to descend beneath the waves
herself and observe her subjects in real life. Beebe
would never allow her to descend in the bathy-
sphere, considering it far too dangerous for a
single mother with a teenage daughter. Instead,
he offered Else the heavy copper diving helmet he
had once used for descents into shallower tropi-
cal waters. A rubber hose, attached to one end
of the helmet, supplied fresh air from the surface
above and would allow Else to stay underwater for
extendedperiodsoftime.
With the sixteen-pound helmet resting heavily
on her shoulders, Else held on tightly as she low-
ered herself down a swaying forty-four-foot rope
boat ladder. In her red bathing suit and sneakers,
she descended into a “fairyland” of endless white
sand, coral castles, and branching sea fans. Reaching
the sandy bottom at about thirty-f ive feet deep,
she needed to remember to swallow frequently to
relieve the increased pressure in her ears. She alsoA scarlet shrimp shoots out a cloud of luminous
f luid to confuse and escape a predator.IT’S BEEBE IN
HIS BATHY!