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Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - CHINESE RIVER DOLPHIN

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Richard Ellis Collection

Overview

Painting of dolphin, pale blue/grey coloration with white underside, a long, narrow, slightly upturned beak, small eyes, and a low, triangular dorsal fin, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (2).

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-RE1999.380

Item type

Artworks

Themes

Material

Card

Gouache

Metal

Paper

Perspex

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

CHINESE RIVER DOLPHIN (Lipotes vexillifer)

Found only in the Changjiang River (formerly the Yangtze), this fresh-water dolphin is also know as the baiji. An endangered species, it is often injured by the propellers of boats on the river.
Very little is know about this animal outside of China, although Western scientists have recently been allowed to study it i its native habitat.
2.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 2 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

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Smithsonian Institution

Place made

United States

Year

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

Copyright and Reference

Copyright and Reference

Permissions

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

Rights holder

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

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Painting of dolphin, pale blue/grey coloration with white underside, a long, narrow, slightly upturned beak, small eyes, and a low, triangular dorsal fin, on blue card with inscriptiond with inscription.

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