Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - HEAVISIDE'S DOLPHIN

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of dolphin with a dark gray "cape" extending from the blowhole to the dorsal fin, a distinctive white underbelly, cone shaped head with a blunt beak and triangular dorsal fin, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (26.)

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-RE1999.347

Item type

Artworks

Themes

Art and Design

Nature

Material

Card

Gouache

Metal

Paper

Perspex

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

HEAVISIDE'S DOLPHIN (Cephalorhynchus heavisideii)

The South African representative of the genus Cephalorhynchus, this little dolphin closely resembles its Chilean counterpart, except that its white ventral markings are considerably more pronounced. Like the black dolphin, its dorsal fin is low and triangular, and it is approximately the same size. It was named for a certain Captain Heaviside (or perhaps "Haviside"), who brought one of the first specimens to the attention of science.
26.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 26 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

c. 1975