Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - HOODED SEAL

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of 2 adult grey, black mottled seals with grey/white pup, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (99).

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-RE1999.313

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

HOODED SEAL (Cystophora cristata) The hooded seal gets its name from the inflatable nasal sac (inflated with air, like a balloon that occurs only in mature males). This sac is believed to be part of the dominance hierarchy, and may be used to intimidate subordinate males. Also called "bladder-nosed seals," they are found in the Arctic and subarctic North Atlantic off Labrador, Greenland, and Jan Mayen Island. They are excellent divers, and there is one extraordinary record of a month-old pup descending 250 feet!

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

Last modified

Wednesday, 15 October, 2025

Completeness

100

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