Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - ROSS SEAL

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of 2 slender bodied seals with small wide heads and short snouts- the larger, darker brown/blackish upper and silvery white ventral side, arched back and open mouthed; the smaller, lighter/grey brown upper and silvery white ventral side; gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (96).

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-RE1999.382

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

ROSS SEAL (Ommatophora rossi)

An Antarctic species, the Ross seal is probably the lease known of all the pinnipeds. Medium-sized, it reaches a length of about 9 feet. From infrequent observation s - their Antarctic ice habitat is rarely visited by humans - Ross seals are believed to be solitary; they do not collect in large herds. When approached by men, these animals have been observed to throw back their heads and emit peculiar clicking and gurgling noises.
96.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 96 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