PAINTING - STEJNEGER`S BEAKED WHALE

c. 1985
Subcollections
Overview

Painting of heavily scratched black whale with small triangular dorsal fin, and protruding tooth at mouth, gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (73).

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-RE1999.356
Item type
Material
Width
410 mm
Height or length
440 mm
Depth
15 mm
Weight
1.52 kg
Inscriptions and markings

STEJNEGER'S BEAKED WHALE (Mesoplodon stejnegeri)

Pronounced STY-ne-ger's, this whale was named for Leonhard Stejneger, the scientist who found the first skull on Bering Island in 1883. The "tusks" of this saber-toothed beaked whale may be over five inches in height, and - as with all Mesoplodons - they appear only in the males. In the few know specimens the large teeth have a mysterious groove on the leading edge- but we don't know why.
73.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 73 Packing case # 4, 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).

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
Thursday, 16 October, 2025
Completeness
100
Permissions

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

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Painting of heavily scratched black whale with small triangular dorsal fin, and protruding tooth at mouth, on blue card with inscription

Scan this QR code to open this page on your phone ->