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Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING -BLACK DOLPHIN

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Richard Ellis Collection

Overview

Painting of black dolphin with white throat and underbelly, small dorsal fin and rounded head; gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (25.)

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-RE1999.350

Item type

Artworks

Themes

Material

Card

Gouache

Metal

Paper

Perspex

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

BLACK DOLPHIN (Cephalorhynchus eutropia)

Also know as the Chilean dolphin, this small, stocky variety is known only from the waters of southern Chile. Occasional specimens are caught in the nets of Chilean crab fishermen, but the species is still so little-known that its description and illustrations are all based on 19th-century drawings, and not on photographs. It can reach a length of 5 feet and a weight of 120 pounds.
25.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 25 Packing case # 3, 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

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

Rights category

Other

Permissions

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

Rights holder

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

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Painting of black dolphin with white throat and underbelly, small dorsal fin and rounded head, on blue card with inscription.

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