Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - HUMPBACK WHALE

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of blue, grey whale with long, white marked flukes, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (50).

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-RE1999.331

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

HUMPBACK WHALE (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Although easily recognized by its long flippers and lumpy dorsal fin, the humpback is rare throughout the world, and very few people are in a position to see one. These whales were once very numerous, but they are slow swimmers, and were therefore the first species taken when whalers moved into a new area. There are now thought to be no more than 5000 humpbacks left in the world. This is the "singing whale;" its songs have been the subject of several records, but we do not know why humpbacks sing, or even how they make their eerie, haunting sounds. Humpbacks have been extensively studied in their warm-water breeding areas, particularly in the West Indies, Bermuda, and Hawaii.
(50)

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 50 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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