Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - DALL PORPOISE

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of thick bodied porpoise, dark gray, black with white markings, small, triangular head and little beak; small, rounded flippers located near the front of the body and triangular dorsal fin in the middle of the back, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (43).

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-RE1999.379

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

DALL PORPOISE (Phocoenoides dalli)
One of the fastest of the small cetaceans, the Dall porpoise dashes through the water toward vessels under way, and then zooms away again, throwing up a characteristic "rooster-tail" of spray as it goes. It is found only in the North Pacific, from California up through Alaska and Siberia, and south to Japan. There are several color variations. The Dall porpoise has the characteristic spade-shaped teeth of the Phocoenidae, but also has "gum teeth" that project above the actual little teeth, and may help the animal grasp its prey (small fishes). Thousands of Dall porpoises are killed every year in the Japanese salmon gillnet fishery.
43.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 43. 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

Smithsonian Institution

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Marine Mammals

Place made

United States

Year

c. 1975