Some artists developed their own versions of Darwin's theories. While Darwin observed that animals' colors and markings had often evolved from natural selection, either to conceal them from predators or to attract mates, the American painter Abbott Handerson Thayer insisted that coloration evolved only for concealment.

To prove his point, Thayer painted a peacock--Darwin's prime example of plumage used for display--fading inconspicuously into the forest.

Peacock in the Woods by Abbott Handerson Thayer (1907)