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Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - NEW ZEALAND SEA LION

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Richard Ellis Collection

Overview

Painting of 3 seals - One large with dark brown coat and prominent mane off coarse hair, blunt nose and short whiskers, with two small lighter grey/yellow pups; gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (80.)

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

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-128-RE1999.361

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

15 kg

Inscriptions and markings

NEW ZEALAND SEA LION (Phocarctos hookeri)

Also know as Hooker's sea lion, this species is found mostly in the subantarctic islands of New Zealand, but it is sometimes found on South Island as well. As with all sea lions, the males grow much larger, and may reach 10 feet in length and weigh 800 pounds. Dominant males collect "harems" and defend them fiercely against intruding bulls.
80.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 80 Packing case # 5, 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

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Smithsonian Institution

Place made

United States

Year

Primary significance criteria

Artistic or aesthetic significance

Scientific or research significance

Comparative significance criteria

Object’s condition or completeness

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

Last modified

Wednesday, 15 October, 2025

Completeness

100

Copyright and Reference

Copyright and Reference

Copyright category

Other

Permissions

Reproduction or publication with Albany’s Historic Whaling Station permission only.

Copyright holder

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

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Painting of 3 seals - One large with dark brown coat and prominent mane off coarse hair, blunt nose and short whiskers, with two small lighter grey/yellow pups; on blue card with inscription.

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