Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - POLAR BEAR

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of polar bear with white, shaggy fur and black nose, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (106.)

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-RE1999.343

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

POLAR BEAR (Thalarctos maritimus)q
Found only in the circumpolar Arctic, the polar bear is not really a marine mammal i that it spends a good deal of its life on land or on fast ice. It is, however , the most aquatic of the bears, sometimes found more than 30 miles from the nearest land or ice floe. Polar bears are efficient predators, and fee primarily on various Arctic seals, fish, birds, and even garbage. The soles of their feet are furred, which enables them to gain traction on the slippery ice, and they are also fast runners, able to outrun a reindeer in a short sprint. Often hunted by "sportsmen" from helicopters, they are believed to be decreasing in numbers.
106.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 106 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

Richard Ellis

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Smithsonian Institution

Marine Mammals

Place made

United States

Year

c. 1975