Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - DENSE-BEAKED WHALE

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of blue toned whale with lighter underbelly & distinctive beak-like snout, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (76.)

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-RE1999.323

Item type

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

DENSE-BEAKED WHALE (Mesoplodon densirostris)
The teeth in mature males of this species are so exaggerated that they protrude above the forehead like a pair of horns. They can be over six inches in length in the males (females have no visible teeth). The dense-beaked whale has been reported from scattered locations north and south of the Equator, including Madeira, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Formosa, and New Jersey.
76.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 76 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

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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