Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - ARCH BEAKED WHALE

Richard Ellis
c. 1975
Subcollections
Richard Ellis Collection
Overview

Painting of arch beaked whale, black with double-beaked white snout and many striations on the body, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (71).

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-RE1999.338
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
Inscriptions and markings

ARCH-BEAKED WHALE (Mesoplodon carlhubbsi)
Named for famous California ichthyologist Carl Hubbs, this rare beaked whale is know only from the North Pacific, and has stranded in California, Washington, British Columbia, and Japan. It is one of the "saber-toothed" whales, where the males have a pair of very large, flattened teeth in the lower jaws. This species has never beeen recorded alive, what little information we have about it comes from the observation of stranded animals.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 71 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
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
Thursday, 16 October, 2025
Completeness
100
Copyright category
Other
Permissions

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

Copyright holder
Albany's Historic Whaling Station
Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

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Painting of black marked dolphin on blue card with inscription.

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