NaSonal Museum of Wildlife Art Wildlife Art: Then and

Wildlife Art: Then and Now Connec#ons to Conserva#on Na#onal Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States Jackson Hole, Wyoming Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D., Petersen Curator Of Art and Research Where are we? Ansel Adams (United States, 1902 – 1984) Tucker Smith (United States, born 1940) What do we do? • 
The Mission of the Na#onal Museum of Wildlife Art is to collect, display, interpret, and preserve the highest quality North American wildlife art, supplemented by wildlife art found throughout the world. The Museum enriches and inspires apprecia#on and knowledge of humanity’s rela#onship with nature. • 
Vision ‐ As the premier museum of wildlife art, the Na#onal Museum of Wildlife Art is the significant resource for organiza#ons and individuals interested in the connec#on between art and wildlife. • 
The Museum’s collec#on embodies the best efforts of historic and contemporary ar#sts to depict wildlife. As a na#onal collec#on, it emphasizes prime examples of work produced by ar#sts from the na#on itself, with a representa#ve selec#on of subjects, forms, styles, materials, and media, spanning the diversity of the na#on’s ar#sts, their antecedents, and the #mes and places important to their work. •  Art Ranging from 2500 BC to today •  From Na#ve American baskets to contemporary glasswork •  From European masters to today’s greatest wildlife ar#sts •  From tradi#onal pain#ng and sculpture to video installa#ons Why am I here, talking to you? •  Our Collec#on and Exhibits are inextricably #ed to the concerns and issues being discussed here at Wild10. •  The connec#ons between art and science run par#cularly deep when looking at wildlife art. •  Darwin’s Legacy: The Evolu<on of Wildlife Art –  Examines how wildlife art has developed to incorporate an ecological vision of wildlife and habitat. Gerard de Lairesse (Belgium, 1640 – 1711) George Stubbs (United Kingdom, 1724 – 1806) Theodore Gericault (France, 1791 – 1824) Antoine Louis Barye (France, 1796 – 1875) Charles Darwin •  Origin of the Species, 1859, and subsequent wri#ngs completely changed the way (many) humans conceptualize themselves in rela#on to our animal brethren. •  Vision of nature as a struggle for existence amongst a huge variety of living organisms was influenced by roman#c renderings of his day. •  In turn influenced ar#sts of his #me and aher to focus on a fuller picture of life in the wild. Joseph Wolf •  Germany, 1820 – 1899 •  Worked as a lithographer in Germany •  Moved to London in 1848 to work at Natural History Museum •  Illustrates work by John Gould, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Charles Darwin •  Diana Donald wrote that Wolf produced “the first truly ecological vision of life in the wild.” •  Travels: –  Norway, Northern Europe •  Areas of Specialty: European birds of prey and wildlife. “Do like I do. Place pieces of hard coal on the board, sprinkle sand in between, and you have the perfect desert.” Paul Meyerheim (Germany, 1842 – 1915) The Big Four • 
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Richard Friese Wilhelm Kuhnert Carl Rungius Bruno Liljefors Richard Friese •  Germany, 1854‐1918 •  Appren#ced at a Lithographic firm before akending Berlin Art School then the Art Academy, 1874‐1880. •  Became a Professor at the Academy and mentored Wilhelm Kuhnert and Carl Rungius •  Travels: –  1891: Near East (Syria to Egyp#an border) –  1894 and 1898: Far North, Spitzbergen, Norway –  1908: North America with Carl Rungius •  Area of Specialty: Lions and Tigers then Red Deer, Wisent, and Polar Bears. Wilhelm Kuhnert • 
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Germany 1865‐1926 Studied at Berlin’s Art Academy, gradua#ng in 1887 Travels – 
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1890: German East Africa 1905‐1906: Africa and India 1911‐1912: Africa Area of Specialty: African wildlife, Elephants, Lions, etc., Indian wildlife – #gers, in par#cular. Became known as “Lion” Kuhnert. Carl Rungius •  Germany, 1869‐1959 •  A decora#ve house painter before studying at the Berlin Art Academy •  Travels –  1894‐96: North America ‐ New York, Maine, Wyoming –  1897‐1903: Wyoming – Wind Rivers, New Brunswick –  1904: Yukon Territory –  1905‐1909: Wyoming –  1910‐ : Banff, Alberta, Canada –  1915: Wyoming –  1922: Builds seasonal studio/
home in Banff •  Area of Specialty: North American charisma#c megafauna – moose, bear, elk, goats, sheep, deer. Bruno Liljefors •  Sweden, 1860‐1939 •  Trained at the Stockholm Royal Academy of Art from 1879‐1882. •  Travels: –  1883‐4: Paris to see Impressionist’s Salon des Independents. –  Lives and works throughout Sweden, buying Bullero (a group of islands on the edge of the Stockholm archipelago) in 1908. –  Artwork travels interna#onally to Berlin, Paris, Chicago, San Francisco •  Area of Specialty: Sweden, birdlife, par#cularly eagles and other birds of prey. Also rabbits and foxes. Wildlife Art Today •  Much con#nues in the Naturalist tradi#on •  Some breaks with tradi#on, but cannot ignore that it is doing so. •  Ohen incorporates a dis#nct conserva#on or poli#cal message. •  Large part of our Exhibit Schedule highlights conserva#on concerns. Fragile Nature: Joel Sartore Great Plains: Michael Forsberg The Last Ocean: Antarc#ca’s Ross Sea Photographs by John Weller Elegy: African Wildlife Photography by Nick Brandt Wild Wonders of Europe Partnering with the Wild Founda#on and the Murie Center Dr. Suess: Original Illustra#ons from The Lorax Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species Mark Eberhard’s On the Edge Conserva#on Gallery Yellowstone to Yukon: The Journey of Wildlife and Art Partnered with Yellowstone to Yukon Conserva#on Ini#a#ve, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, and ar#st Dwayne Harty George Catlin’s American Buffalo Partnered with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Na#onal Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West Partnered with Na#onal Geographic, Rich Clarkson and Associates, and Museums West What can we do with you? End