Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - SPERM WHALE

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of black whale with squared head and toothed jaw, white underbelly markings toward the tail, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (56)

Historical information

Collection of 106 of paintings by Richard Ellis that were selected by the Smithsonian Institution to form a traveling exhibit of the marine mammals of the world. The collection was purchased by Perth businessman Kevin Parry in 1985 and donated to Whale World, now known as Albany's Historic Whaling Station.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-128-RE1999.332

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

SPERM WHALE (Physeter macrocephalus)
Although this is probably the most familiar of all the large whales (Moby Dick was a sperm), it is still one of the least known of all large animals on earth. The sperm is the only large whale with a single nostril at the end of its nose; all the other great whales have paired nostrils ("blowholes") on top of their heads. A huge reservoir of clear oil resides in the nose and we still don't know what it is used for. Nor do we know what the animal does with a 20-pound brain- the largest of any animal that has ever lived. Sperm whales are the undisputed deep-diving champions of the mammalian world; they can hold their breath for an hour and a half, and descend to depths of 3500 feet or more. Although it was heavily hunted in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, the sperm whale is now protected throughout most of its worldwide range.
56

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 56 Packing case # 4, AWHS accession number

Contextual information

The paintings represent a body of work by well-known American marine conservationist, author, artist and natural historian Richard Ellis (1938-2024).

Keywords

Richard Ellis

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Smithsonian Institution

Marine Mammals

Place made

United States

Year

c. 1975

Statement of significance

Rarity:106 of these paintings were selected by the Smithsonian Institution to form a traveling exhibit of the marine mammals of the world. All these paintings were bought by Kevin Parry and donated to Whale World

Primary significance criteria

Artistic or aesthetic significance

Scientific or research significance

Comparative significance criteria

Object’s condition or completeness

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

Public location

Colin Green Gallery

Google Maps search term / URL

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Albany's+Historic+Whaling+Station

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