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PAINTING - BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Richard Ellis Collection

Overview

Painting of dolphin, dark grey with lighter grey belly, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (10).

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-RE1999.353

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursops truncatus)

By far the most familiar of all dolphins, this is the variety that has been seen by most people. The bottlenose is the star of television and porpoise shows, and because of its adaptability to captivity and its cooperative nature, it has been the subject of every conceivable kind of test. Echo-location in dolphins was first observed in bottlenoses in Florida in the early 1950's and it was subsequently learned that all toothed whales have this ability/. In the wild the bottlenose is usually found within 500 miles of shore; it is widely distributed throughout the world's oceans, with the exception of polar waters. Several subspecies are recognized, but most scientists believe that there is one worldwide species, with geographical variations.
10.
Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 10 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

Primary significance criteria