Call of the Wild Magazine 2013 by Sarah Nelsen

Call of the Wild ®

N a t i o n a l

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2 013 –14

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C ALL OF THE W ILD n a t i o n a l m u s e u m of w i l d l i f e a r t

2013–14 EDITION | Call of the Wild magazine is published annually.

Highlights

MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the National Museum of Wildlife Art is to collect, display, interpret, and preserve the highest quality North American wildlife art, supplemented by wildlife art found throughout the world. The museum enriches and inspires appreciation and knowledge of humanity’s relationship with nature.

Board of Trustees

George Catlin’s American Buffalo

Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in conjunction with the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Curated and with an essay by Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D., Petersen Curator of Art & Research

Amazing Animals John James Audubon to Andy Warhol…and Beyond By Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D.

Lost but Not Forgotten

Darwin’s Legacy: The Evolution of Wildlife Art

Elegy: The African Photography of Nick Brandt

Ancient Traditions: The Whetzel Collection of Pueblo and Pre-Pueblo Pottery

By Irene M.K. Rawlings, Editor

By Jane Lavino, Sugden Family Curator of Education and Exhibits Interview compiled by Bronwyn Minton, Assistant Curator of Art

Curated by Jenna Kloeppel, 2012 McGee Curatorial Intern

Wild Wonders of Europe By Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D.

Regul ars

William G. Kerr, Chairman Emeritus William A. Mingst, Chairman David Walsh, Treasurer Reggie McNamara, Secretary James C. McNutt, Ph.D., President & CEO Judson Ball Jan Benz Stephanie Brennan Lisa Carlin Barbara Carlsberg Dick Collister Lynn Friess Susan Simpson Gallagher Carol Gonnella Tony Greene Richard A. Heise, Sr. Robert C. Hummel Kavar Kerr Scott Kirkpatrick Helen Laughery Clarene Law Fred W. Lyons, Jr. Adrienne Mars Peggy Mays Richard E. O’Leary Debbie Petersen Lindy Beazley Sayers William R. Scarlett, IV Henry Stifel Marcia G. Taylor David Walsh Bettina Whyte

1 From the President and CEO 9 Catlin’s Portraits: Compelling and Accurate

Life Trustees Marion Buchenroth Bob Jaycox Bob McCloy Charlie Mechem Gloria Newton Dick Vaughan TRUSTEES EMERITI Charles Baker Howell Breedlove Thomas Chrystie Roger Craton Mary Anne Cree Ted Donnan Jack Fritz Richard P. Johnston Joffa Kerr Earl Sams Lightner Clarke Nelson Maggie Scarlett Suzanne Young NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Barbara Casey Sophie Craighead Mary Anne Cree Liliane A. Haub William P. Healey Tim Hixon Richard P. Johnston Bill Lively Christine Mollring Bob Peck Nelson Schwab, III Ann Trammell John Turner Barbara Vogelstein

By Amy Goicoechea, Associate Curator of Education

25 The Roar of Cracking Ice

Interview compiled by Irene M.K. Rawlings

30 Looking at Wildlife Art: Showstopper By Naturalist Bert Raynes

32 In the Spotlight: Wonder Cabinet: A Collection of Curiosities By Bronwyn Minton, Assistant Curator of Art

33 Traveling Trout Exhibit: My Students’ Experiences

Chairman’s Council 2012–13 (As of 3/1/13) Mary & Jim Barnes Lynn & Foster Friess Joy & Tony Greene Joffa & Bill Kerr Kavar Kerr

Adrienne & John Mars Ann & Dick O’Leary Tally & Bill Mingst Debbie Petersen Marcia & Mike Taylor Jade & David Walsh

By Jim Gilman, Art Instructor, Powell High School

34 Western Visions® Featured Artists and Schedule

President’s Council 2012–13

35 2nd Annual Plein Air Fest

(As of 3/1/13) Sue & Judd Ball Suzann & Gary Brinson Gina & Dick Heise Carole & Robert Hummel Helen Laughery

36 Art Beat: People, Art, and Museum Photos 39 Museum News: Bull-Bransom Awards 40 Volunteers 42 About the Museum

ON THE COVER: George Catlin, Buffalo Chase, a Surround by the Hidatsa, 1832-1833, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

Dee & Fred Lyons Julie & Will Obering Ellen & Peter Safir Frank & Marjorie Sands Maggie & Dick Scarlett Charlotte & Hank Stifel Heather Stolz

T h e W o n d e r s of N a t u r e N e v e r C e a s e to A m a z e

rom the time that 16th and 17thcentury European royalty and nobles were creating “cabinets of curiosities,” museums have collected and commissioned artwork depicting the natural world. Ulisse Aldrovandi’s famous museum at Bologna, Italy, included a meticulous report with a depiction of a “dragon” featuring the body of a snake and two feet. The thousands of other depictions collected by Aldrovandi (1522 – 1605) are among the earliest “scientific” drawings of animals. Representations of both the new and the wonderful in nature never cease to amaze, as this coming year’s exhibitions and programs will show. The exhibit George Catlin’s American Buffalo, guest curated by Adam Harris for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, premieres a long-awaited nationwide tour at the Museum in May, along with a catalogue written by Harris. Catlin helped create an American icon, furnishing depictions of an animal many in America and Europe had heard about but never seen. Amazing Animals: John James Audubon to Andy Warhol, features works in the Museum’s collection by Catlin’s American successors as they grappled with the issues related to both art and the natural world. A deeper look at the impact of science on art emerges in Darwin’s Legacy, prompted by the interest of people who have incorporated science into their art. Wild Wonders of Europe reveals a spectacular photographic effort to document the presence of wildlife in areas long thought to be barren, and Nick Brandt’s superb photographs of African wildlife in Elegy reminds us all of the work that still needs to be done. In the spring of 2014, we will look back to the early days of museums to present Wonder Cabinet: A Collection of Curiosities, a community art production curated by Bronwyn Minton in the mode of Aldrovandi’s museum. Through the coming year these exhibits and the accompanying programs will provide ample opportunity to enjoy and learn from

“Representations of both the new and the wonderful in nature never cease to amaze, as this coming year’s exhibitions and programs will show.” the passion, discipline, and commitment of artists who approach the natural world and its wildlife. Sheltered in the museum, their work seldom speaks directly to the trouble required to produce it. Quite aside from the physical hardships endured by artists who sought animals in the wild for the sake of portraying them accurately, the reaction of the human world to art depicting the wild could be crushing. The “dragon” observed by Aldrovandi in 1572 was not described in a published report until 1629, thirty years after the artist’s death, due to the concern that it represented a politically sensitive “portent”1 related to the ascension of Pope Gregory XIII. Likewise George Catlin sought for many years to see his Indian Gallery become part of a permanent museum collection, but never saw the results in his lifetime. It remains to be seen how we will accommodate the work of the many successors to these earlier artists, whose depictions of the new, the startling, and the rare continue to remind us of the fragility of life on earth.

James C. McNutt President & CEO

Paula Findlen, Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), 20.

National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States

George Catlin, Buffalo Hunt under the Wolf-skin Mask, 1832-1833, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

George Catlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

american BUFFALO Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in conjunction with the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Curated and with an essay by Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D.

George Catlin, Buffalo Chase, Bulls Making Battle with Men and Horses, 1832-1833, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

his summer the National Museum of Wildlife Art is proud to partner with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to present forty original paintings by explorer-artist George Catlin. Catlin was one of the first artists of European descent to chronicle the massive herds of buffalo that once roamed the Great Plains. While Catlin was primarily interested in depicting the life-ways of the native tribes he encountered in the North American interior, many of his works directly or indirectly incorporate the bison because of the deep connections between many American Indian tribes and the bison, on which they relied for food, clothing, and shelter. Catlin began his professional career as a lawyer, but soon turned to painting. He moved to Philadelphia in 1821, where he exhibited work, often miniature portraits, at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He befriended artists Thomas Sully and John Neagle, but, other than those two, his influences or art Continued on page 4

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nature has no where presented more beautiful and lovely scenes...the Indian and the buffalo... fugitives together from the approach of civilized man...â&#x20AC;? 5

teachers are unknown. In 1826, Catlin saw a delegation of American Indians in Philadelphia and became fascinated by their appearance and culture. By 1830, he was making his first sojourn into the West. In all, Catlin made five expeditions to gather material. His most productive trip was in 1832, when he traveled all the way up the Missouri to Fort Union on the western border of North Dakota.1 Catlin traveled through the interior of North America when bison were still plentiful, but he sensed even then that without some greater measure of restraint on the part of advancing Europeans, American Indians and bison would soon be eradicated from the plains. He wrote, “Of such ‘rudeness and wilds,’ Nature has no where presented more beautiful and lovely scenes, than those of the vast prairies of the West; and of man and beast, no nobler specimens than those who inhabit them – the Indian and the buffalo – joint and original tenants of the soil, and fugitives together from the approach of civilized man; they have fled to the great plains of the West, and there, under an equal doom, they have taken up their last abode, where their race will expire, and their bones will bleach together.”2 His warnings went unheeded and within fifty years bison numbers had dropped from millions to only few hundred. This decimation had a tremendous impact on many Plains Indians, whose reliance on the bison left them increasingly without the primary resource upon which they had based much of their way of life. After Catlin, the iconography of the bison grew to symbolize both the bounty of the American wilderness and the tragic squander of that gift thanks to the advancing tide of civilization. Catlin’s Buffalo Bull, Grazing on the Prairie epitomizes this vision: wild, iconic, and tragic at the same time. The bison also came to represent the traditional, unspoiled way of life enjoyed by native tribes before the damaging incursions of eastward moving Europeans. The catalogue accompanying the exhibit delves into Catlin’s work, but also connects the issues with which he was concerned to contemporary concerns about sustainability, conservation, and the environment. The following is an excerpt from the catalog essay, a brief personal narrative about how Catlin’s work connects with us today.3 I sit on a small jet taking off from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, just south of Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was the epicenter of buffalo recovery in the late 1800s and is currently home to a herd numbering about three thousand. I am headed to Oklahoma City, near the largest remaining parcel of tallgrass prairie in the United States, which is home to about twenty-five hundred buffalo. Much of the land between these two places provided habitat for the millions of buffalo that once roamed America’s Great Plains. And, in most places, where there were buffalo, there were American Indians, who relied on these animals for food, shelter, and clothing. Flying at forty thousand feet, going five hundred miles an hour for three hours, I am struck by the sheer scope of the buffalo’s former habitat. An estimated thirty million of the big, burly beasts inhabited the ground beneath the sky and clouds I fly through, populating the open lands stretching

“Catlin’s vision for ‘what might be’ has the potential to come true today...a landuse policy for the Great Plains that would reintroduce bison and provide a sustainable and healthy food source for generations to come.” from Mexico to Canada.4 Relatively few explorers of European descent saw these great herds; fewer still recorded what they saw for others to see, bearing witness to the incredible sight of a landscape blackened by living, breathing buffalo (or, as they are properly known, bison).5 George Catlin, one of the first artists of European descent to travel up the Missouri River through the northern range of the buffalo, not only saw it, but he also recorded it in word and image. His stirring words and vibrant paintings resonated with audiences in the eastern United States and Europe during his time and reverberate with meaning even today. As the plane flies over the rugged Rocky Mountains and enters the airspace above the flat farmlands of the American plains, the landscape transforms from snowcapped mountains and lush river valleys to a series of cultivated squares and circles in different shades of green and brown, indicating different crops or different harvest cycles. This is not prime forage for free-ranging herds of buffalo, but is instead a landscape divided, fenced, irrigated, seeded, fertilized, and harvested for the benefit of humans—a region that has been described as America’s Breadbasket. Catlin had a different idea of what this landscape could look like and how it could function. His idea is as complicated as he was, fraught with contradictions and biased by the tenor of his times, but his idea also speaks to contemporary concerns about a sustainable way to use the land also known as the Great Plains. Though Catlin did not have the benefit of modern air travel, in his two volume book, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of North American Indians, he projected himself into the sky, “lifted up upon an imaginary pair Continued on page 6

George Catlin, Buffalo Cow Grazing on the Prairie, 1832-1833, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

George Catlin, Buffalo Chase with Bows and Lances, 1832-1833, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

George Catlin, Bull Dance, Mandan O-kee-pa Ceremony, 1832, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

of wings” high above the continent. At first he saw an Edenic vision of “vast, and almost boundless plains of grass, which were speckled with the bands of grazing buffaloes!” But then his vision turned dark, as hunters of all varieties filled the land and hunted the buffalo to their death. These two opposite visions repeat throughout his Letters and Notes: one vision represents the way he thought the land might be if left alone or protected; the other represents the way he assumed the land would be, given the advancing tide of European American settlement.6 The essay continues with an investigation of how Catlin’s vision for “what might be” has the potential to come true today as various parties including American Indians, wealthy ranchers, and conservationists coalesce around a land-use policy for the Great Plains that would reintroduce bison and provide a sustainable and healthy food source for generations to come.

The exhibit and portfolio section of the catalog take a closer look at how the bison was incorporated into the lives of tribes such as the Mandan, Sioux, Crow, and Comanche. There are scenes depicting hunts, ceremonies, and daily life, all of which incorporate the bison. Catlin’s hunting scenes are some of his most dynamic. He was careful to record the variety of ways tribesmen hunted buffalo, a few of which recall methods employed before horses made a huge impact on Plains Indian culture. In Catlin’s nonhunting scenes, he depicts buffalo habits and habitats, displaying an interest in the animal as something other than a source of food or robes. In these pictures, buffalo wallow, butt heads, and greet a herd of wandering elk in relative peace and isolation. Here, he begins to show them as creatures with value in and of themselves, not just as objects of pursuit. In his painting and writings, Catlin displayed and discussed the myriad ways that buffalo existed in the everyday life of the Continued on page 8

George Catlin, Bird’s-eye View of the Mandan Village, 1800 Miles above St. Louis, 1837–1839, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

“In Catlin’s non-hunting scenes, he depicts buffalo habits and habitats...he begins to show them (the buffalo) as creatures with value in and of themselves, not just as objects of pursuit.”

George Catlin, Back View of Mandan Village, Showing the Cemetery, 1832, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

George Catlin, Medicine Buffalo of the Sioux, 1837-1839, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

tribes he encountered. Included here are paintings of villages, teepees, and boats that all incorporate elements of the buffalo, as well as images of various ceremonies in which the buffalo played a central role. Finally, in some of Catlin’s best-known work, he provided striking portraits of the people he encountered, many dressed in their finest garb, sporting decorated buffalo robes as emblems of prestige. Catlin’s work helped lay the foundation upon which much of the mythology of the Plains Indian and the American Bison was built. His images depicting the deep connections between American Indians and bison remain unsurpassed in the art historical canon and his writings provide further insight into his perceptions. Because Catlin, more than any other early American artist, eloquently recorded and then published his thoughts, examining his images and text provides a rich opportunity to investigate essential aspects in the development of the American frontier ethos. A catalog with essay and reproductions of all of the paintings in the exhibit will be available at the National Museum of Wildlife Art

and through the Smithsonian American Art Museum. After its run in Wyoming, the exhibit is scheduled to travel to the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs, California (October 1, 2013–December 29, 2013); Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando, Florida (October 4, 2014–January 1, 2015); and Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston Salem, North Carolina (February 12, 2015–May 3, 2015) For full tour details and dates, please visit: americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/catlin_buffalo/.

Catlin’s other journeys included one in 1830, based in St. Louis, when he traveled up the Missouri River to Fort Leavenworth and up the Mississippi River to Fort Crawford. In 1834, he traveled southwest of St. Louis into Oklahoma, back down the Arkansas River to the Mississippi and then to New Orleans. In 1835, he traveled the length of the Mississippi from Minnesota to New Orleans and then over to Pensacola, Florida. In 1836, he made his way to the Pipestone Quarry in southwestern Minnesota before traveling back to Buffalo, New York.

George Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians (New York: Dover Publications, 1973; unabridged reprint of 1844 London edition), 1:260.

George Catlin’s American Buffalo is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in collaboration with the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Many generous contributors helped support the exhibition, catalogue, and tour. Mary Anne and Richard W. Cree and Lynn and Foster Friess made generous donations to the exhibition. The William R. Kenan, Jr. Endowment Fund and the Smithsonian Council for American Art provided support for the publication of the catalogue. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go. This exhibition will be on display at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, May 10– August 25, 2013 in the Gilcrease and Changing Visions Galleries.

Excerpted from Adam Duncan Harris, George Catlin’s American Buffalo (Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013). Andrew C. Isenberg, The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 29.

5 The scientific name for the North American buffalo is Bison bison. The two terms, buffalo and bison, are commonly used interchangeably. For consistency, I used the vernacular buffalo throughout this project.

George Catlin, Letters and Notes, 1:258.

Explore a Bi t More

Catlin’s Portraits: Compelling and Accurate By Amy Goicoechea, Associate Curator of Education

atlin is widely admired for his accurate documentation of American Indian life. In fact, his portraits of Indian chiefs and women are also stunning and captivating. So, what makes Catlin’s portraits so compelling? They show emotion without sentimentality. The images also reveal a relationship of reverence and respect between Catlin and his subjects. Interestingly, Catlin was not trained as an artist, but as a lawyer. He quickly changed career paths upon witnessing a group of American Indians clothed in traditional dress in Philadelphia. Inspired by their beauty, he began a career as a portraitist. If you want to create a powerful portrait, inspired by Catlin’s, what are some of the considerations that you will need to make? Catlin, undoubtedly, provided direction for his subjects and explained his intentions to them. For example, he invited them to wear their most treasured clothing and adornments. Catlin’s purpose was to document their lives and traditions. He genuinely wanted to get to know them. Catlin clearly also wanted to create an accurate likeness of each individual he painted. Therefore, he devoted himself to capturing their unique gestures and facial features as well as well their apparel. Finally, he included a wealth of information about each subject by including unique and particular details, such as face paint, headdress, and jewelry. Visit WildlifeArt.org to learn more about George Catlin and view his art works. George Catlin, Ee-áh-sá-pa, Black Rock, a Two Kettle Chief, 1832, Oil on Canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

Penelope Gottlieb (United States, b. 1952). 2011. Acrylic and Ink over Audubon Print. Gifts of the 2012 Collectors Circle with Additional Assistance from Generous Patrons, National Museum of Wildlife Art. (left to right) Passiflora Vitifolia, 37 x 25 inches; Tibouchina urvilleana, 32.875 x 23.875 inches; Leucanthemum vulgare, 37 x 23.375 inches.

John James Audubon to Andy Warhol … and Beyond By Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D.

reated as a companion to the George Catlin’s American Buffalo exhibition, this exhibit showcases how different artists over time have used the print medium to portray a wide variety of amazing animals. The work in the exhibit ranges from John James Audubon’s 1830 hand-colored engraving of an Osprey to Andy Warhol’s 1983 screen print of a Siberian tiger. Also included is work by contemporary artists Walton Ford and Penelope Gottlieb, who recycle the imagery of Audubon and his cohort to make powerful statements about our ever-evolving relationship with wildlife and nature. The decades between 1820 and 1850 saw the publication of four seminal works in the American art historical canon. Audubon’s great portfolio of North American birds began publication in 1827 and spanned until 1838. George Catlin’s series of lithographs depicting his travels along the Missouri River were issued in 1844, while Karl Bodmer’s etchings documenting the people and animals he had seen on his travels into the interior of North America were issued between 1839 and 1844. Audubon’s second major project, presenting North American mammals, was printed between 1845 and 1848. These publications made hundreds of images of

American wildlife (as well as native people in the case of Catlin and Bodmer) available in an unprecedented fashion. The authorized editions of Audubon, Catlin, and Bodmer had a large impact on the way European-Americans and Europeans envisioned the inhabitants of the American West, both in terms of native peoples and native animals. The true reach of their imagery is hard to gauge, however, given the widespread copying and unauthorized reproduction of the works in the popular press. Expeditionary journeys into the West and the resulting prints slowed in the mid-late 1800s as the Civil War occupied the attention of the nation. The early decades of the 1900s saw the reemergence of wildlife-themed printmaking. Limited edition etchings were created by artists who were looking to experiment with alternate mediums or who wanted to create artwork available to collectors at a lower price point. Prolific in this regard was Frank Benson, who began to specialize in wildfowl prints in the 1920s. Benson’s involvement with the fledgling Federal Duck Stamp Conservation program kicked-off one of the most popular and longest-lived wildlife print series in the nation’s history. In terms of printing, the early to middle of the 20th century

Continued on page 10

Walton Ford (United States, b. 1960), Benjamin’s Emblem, 2000. Edition 6/50. Etching, Aquatint, and Drypoint on Paper. 44 x 31 inches. Gift of the 2009 and 2010 Collectors Circles, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Walton Ford.

“I wanted to take the language

of the nineteenth-century natural-history illustrators and use it...to plumb our own collective ways of thinking about the natural world and these beings we share the planet with.” – Walton Ford 13

from across the stylistic spectrum is known as the Golden Age of are drawn to wildlife subject matter. Illustration. During this time, Contemporary artists such as popular magazines proliferated Walton Ford and Penelope Gottlieb with artists such as Charles are heavily influenced and interested Livingston Bull, Paul Bransom, in the work of Audubon in particular, Norman Rockwell, and John Clymer but look to artists and attitudes illustrating covers and stories of of his era in general as they create color-filled publications like The their art. Walton Ford noted in a Saturday Evening Post. Bob Kuhn recent interview, “I wanted to take began his career illustrating for the language of the nineteenthmagazines such as Field and Stream century natural-history illustrators and Outdoor Life. He transitioned and use it in a way they would never from illustration to easel painting have imagined—to plumb our own by working for the Remington Arms collective ways of thinking about the Company in the late 1960s, creating natural world and these beings we an annual portfolio of sporting Andy Warhol (United States, 1928 - 1987), Endangered Species Portfolio; share the planet with.”3 images that were also reproduced Big Horn Ram, 1983. Screenprint on Lennox Museum Board. 38 x 38 inches. Gift of the 2006 Collectors Circle and an Anonymous Donor and National on Remington calendars. The Ford has an admittedly conflicted Museum of Wildlife Art Acquisitions Fund. Courtesy Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York. © 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Remington Arms print series was an relationship with Audubon. Though Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. early drop in the bucket that would he admires and is highly influenced soon be overtopped with portfolios by the great naturalist’s style, he of wildlife prints as the 20th century noted, “Anybody who reads up on drew to a close. Audubon is going to have mixed In the midst of this burgeoning feelings about him…He was a wildlife print market, pop artist braggart, a liar, and just too trigger Andy Warhol presented his happy, even for that time. He killed own take on the subject with his hundreds of and hundreds of birds Endangered Species portfolio. By he didn’t need.”4 Ford’s carefully playing with notions of production constructed images are created in and by glamorizing everyday a style that immediately reminds objects (or people, with his celebrity viewers of Audubon, but upon portraits), Warhol made viewers closer inspection, his work reveals see things they were intimately the dark underside of human/animal familiar with in a new light. In the interactions over time. 1980s, after critical and financial Penelope Gottlieb also uses success, Warhol turned his attention the work of Audubon to comment to endangered species. In an on current concerns. In her Invasive essay on the Endangered Species Species series, she paints directly portfolio, Matt Wrbican of the Andy over reproductions of Audubon’s Warhol Museum gave insight into famous prints. When asked why Warhol’s impression of the work, she chose Audubon, she replied, “Warhol commented that these “I had a few Audubon prints in the unnatural, brightly colored works studio that I had bought at a thrift were ‘animals in make-up,’ thereby shop, intending to re-purpose their linking them to his society portraits frames. I kept looking at them and John James Audubon (Santo Domingo, 1785 – 1851), Snowy Owls, c. 1830. Hand-Colored Engraving. 37 1/2 x 24 3/8 inches. Gift of the 2008 Collectors on which he frequently performed one day got the idea to ‘invade’ them. Circle, National Museum of Wildlife Art. a bit of visual surgery, making the Non-native invasive species are one 1 lips fuller, the hair thicker, the nose straighter and thinner.” By of the top three reasons for botanical extinction…I wanted to address this subject visually in my work…So, I decided to ‘invade’ giving eagles, elephants, and butterflies the “Warhol treatment,” the existing Audubon prints with the addition of invasive vines he was both shedding new light on a popular topic and adding enveloping and strangling the birds in the images. It became an air of celebrity to these creatures who had no voice of their a very powerful visual for me: the literal invasion of an existing own. Art dealers Ronald and Frayda Feldman commissioned the image, and the violence of incapacitating a vulnerable subject. The Endangered Species portfolio in 1983. Today, the work stands as a process of making the work mirrored the environmental violence reflection of the era in which it was created as it shows how artists

Explore a Bi t More Karl Bodmer, (Switzerland, 1809 – 1893), Herds of Bisons and Elks on the Upper Missouri, 1839. Hand-colored Aquatint and Etching on Paper. 14 x 16 1/2 inches. JKM Collection ®, National Museum of Wildlife Art Collection.

“The authorized editions of Audubon, Catlin, and Bodmer had a large impact on the way European-Americans and Europeans envisioned the inhabitants of the American West, both in terms of native peoples and native animals.”

of the phenomena. By appropriating these vintage reproductions, and ultimately staging my invasive interventions within them, I could enter into a dialogue with a historical representation of nature and insert my own voice and contemporary perspective directly.”5 Gottlieb’s groundbreaking paintings use Audubon’s complicated relationship with his subjects to enhance the depth and interpretive possibilities of her visually stunning work. Going from a landmark era in the print production of the United States to artists who reference the work of the past while addressing current issues, the proliferation of animal imagery and the wide variety of ways it has been interpreted over the course of the last two centuries is truly amazing. This exhibit will present selections from the portfolios of Audubon, Catlin, Bodmer, Warhol, Ford, and Gottlieb; a diverse survey showing how succeeding generations of artistic representations of animals reflect the changing tenor of the times.

1 2 3 4 5

Art Activity: Warhol-Style Animal Portraits By Amy Goicoechea, Associate Curator of Education

Learn about the silk-screening process, the physical layering of Warhol’s portraits, and explore his use of color, repetition, and variation. You will need: photocopy acetate, colored paper, paper scraps, glue sticks, permanent markers, Scotch® tape, and scissors. Choose a visual image of an animal: a photograph or magazine clipping. Using a photocopy machine, copy this image onto photocopy acetate (available at office supply stores). Make four copies. Put blank white paper behind each acetate copy. Cut the acetates and backing sheets down to the image size. Tape them together along one edge. Use cut or torn paper, stickers, foil, markers, etc., to create a collage-type pattern on the white backing paper so these colors show through the acetate, acting as under-painting. Draw with different colored permanent markers on the collage backing and on the acetate copy to accentuate the animal. Display all four in a grid on a larger piece of paper. Use bright colors and have fun!

Amazing Animals: John James Audubon to Andy Warhol will be on exhibition May 10 - August 18, 2013 in the Bison Gallery.

Matt Wrbican, “Wildlife: Nature as Culture in Andy Warhol’s Art,” essay in Silent Spring: Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species and Vanishing Animals, exhibit brochure, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, Wyoming, June 17–September 24, 2006. Exhibit originated at The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2 Ibid. 3 Calvin Tomkins, “Man and Beast: The Narrative Art of Walton Ford,” The New Yorker, Jan 26, 2009, 52. 4 Tomkins, 54. 5 Gottlieb quoted in the22magazine online at http://www.the22magazine.com/V3/Pages/PenelopeGottlieb 1

Sample by Bronwyn Minton

“We need to consider what we’ve lost and still are losing.”

Lost

Not Forgotten t u b

By Irene M. K. Rawlings

he Lost Bird Project brings awareness about the tragedy of modern-era extinctions by immortalizing five North American birds—the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, the Labrador Duck, the Great Auk, and the Heath Hen—all of which have been driven to extinction. The project intends to permanently place a memorial sculpture at the last sighting of each extinct bird, when that’s possible, and the spot must be accessible for educational outreach. “The place should have some direct relevance to the decline of the bird and should also be a place where people can see the sculptures,” says sculptor Todd McGrain, the Lost Bird Project’s founder whose interest in birds started when he was still a child and watching birds out of the back window with his dad, an avid birder. Eventually he and his dad were taking field trips to watch birds, something they enjoy doing to this day. This early childhood education in natural history informed McGrain’s sensibility when he later became a sculptor. And the Lost Bird Project began in an equally organic way. He was sculpting a small, preening duck out of clay. At that moment, a friend handed him a book about the extinction of the Labrador Duck. “When I read the narrative, I began thinking of the Labrador Duck as I worked on the duck sculpture and it became a memorial to that bird,” McGrain says. This was the first in a chain of circumstances that led to the Lost Bird Project, a public art project and a documentary film. “My fascination really took off with my awareness of other extinct birds,” says McGrain. “I felt a greater urgency to make sculptures of extinct birds than real birds because they (extinct

birds) have no form in the real world…they exist only in memory.” He adds that the only way to have a physical experience with these birds is through art and the way to build memory is through story. “I had known about the Passenger Pigeon and the Carolina Parakeet when I was a kid,” says McGrain, “but when you’re a kid and you read the history of the mid-19th century, it seems so long ago…but it really is recent and the many of the forces that drove these birds to extinction are still alive today.” The story goes that the very last Labrador Duck, an immature male, was shot in a park in Elmira, New York, in 1878 by a lad hunting food for his family. Passenger Pigeons, once the most abundant birds in the world, were shot for food, mostly by professional hunters who, aided by the invention of the telegraph, could communicate with each other and travel by railroad to “where the birds were congregating and shoot hundreds of thousands at a time.” The Continued on page 16 (Opposite Page) These sculptures are part of artist Todd McGrain’s project to memorialize the extinction of five North American birds; the Carolina Parakeet, Great Auk, Passenger Pigeon, Heath Hen and Labrador Duck. The documentary film, The Lost Bird Project, follows McGrain as he searches for the locations where the birds were last seen in the wild and negotiates for permission to install his large bronze sculptures there. Top: A bronze memorial sculpture to the Heath Hen stands along a bike path in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest on Martha’s Vineyard island in Massachusetts. (Todd McGrain/Lost Bird Project) Middle: A bronze memorial sculpture of the Labrador Duck stands in Brand Park in Elmira, New York near the site where the last one of the species was seen in the wild on December 12, 1878. (Deborah Dickson/Lost Bird Project) Bottom: The bronze memorial sculpture to the Passenger Pigeon stands at the Grange Audubon Center in Columbus, Ohio. (Todd McGrain/Lost Bird Project)

The bronze sculpture of the Great Auk stands on Joe Batt’s Point on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. (Todd McGrain/Lost Bird Project)

“Forgetting is another form of extinction.”

A fishing boat passes by the bronze sculpture of the Great Auk on Joe Batt’s Point on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. (Todd McGrain/Lost Bird Project)

“My interest is remembering and keeping a piece of our natural history as part of our cultural memory.”

Great Auk, a flightless densely feathered bird, was doomed when featherbeds became fashionable. The last Great Auk was taken on Elderry Island, Iceland, in 1844. The Heath Hen, a relative of the Prairie Chicken, was tasty and, like the Great Auk, easy to kill. Carolina Parakeet sightings were reported until the 1930s and nothing since then. Asked if he feels sadness about the extinct birds when he’s working on the memorial sculptures, McGrain replies: “No, I don’t get sad but I do feel a sense of introspection. I’ve made a lot of sculptures but I have a higher standard for my Lost Bird work. I look for an emotional response from the viewer that suits the seriousness of the memorial. I want the sculptures to be beautiful to touch with a surface half way between shiny and flat. Bronze is my favorite material because it is the most durable for outdoor sculptures and also has a nice tactility.” To learn more about the Lost Bird Project, the sculptures and where they are placed, and to learn about the documentary film and view the trailer, please log on to LostBirdProject.org. The Lost Bird Project will be on exhibition June 14 November 10, 2013 in the Sculpture Trail - Amphitheater.

Artist Todd McGrain works on plaster molds in his studio near Ovid, New York. The molds are used to make bronze sculptures as part of the Lost Bird Project. (Lost Bird Project)

The Evolution of Wildlife Art By Jane Lavino, Sugden Family Curator of Education and Exhibits

ABOVE: Bart Walter (United States, b. 1958), Contemplation, 1991. Bronze. 25 ½ x 20 x 22 ½ inches. JKM Collection©, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Bart Walter.

Lars Jonsson (Sweden, b. 1952), Settled for the Night (American Widgeons), 2001. Oil on Canvas. 31 ¼ x 47 inches. JKM Collection©, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Lars Jonsson.

t and science. In the field of wildlife art, these connections

his major exhibition examines the relationship between art

run particularly deep. Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking work on the evolution of species spurred subsequent generations of artists to closely examine the natural world around them. How an animal functioned within and adapted to its environment became as important as an accurate depiction of how it looked. Beginning with Joseph Wolf and continuing with Bruno Liljefors, European artists were keen observers and recorders of a wide range of species. In America, Carl Akeley and James Lippett Clark, who worked for the American Museum of Natural History, were equally facile with taxidermy and fine art sculpture. Connections between scientists and artists have continued to this day. This exhibit examines the connections between science and art from the 1800s to today, ending with contemporary examples by artists such as Lars Jonsson, Bart Walter, and Laney. It was Laney who first introduced us to Endless Forms: Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts, the book edited by Diana Donald and Jane Munro. The ideas presented in its pages have greatly informed our exhibit. It is a fascinating book, with incredible illustrations exploring Darwin’s impact on the visual arts. The National Museum of Wildlife Art became interested in bringing art and science together in a way we had not explored previously in an exhibition. We envisioned highlighting partnerships between artists and the scientists who have inspired each other.

Carl Ethan Akeley (United States, 1864 – 1926), Wounded Comrade, 1913. Bronze. 12 x 23 x 12 1/2 inches. Gift of the 1999 Collectors Circle, National Museum of Wildlife Art.

Laney epitomizes such an artist for whom the science and the art are inextricably twined. Konrad Lorenz, a zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist had huge influence on her. Lorenz won a Nobel Prize for his objective study of animal behavior under natural conditions. Laney credits his writings about animal imprinting for giving her “the approval needed to treat the study of animal behavior as a legitimate adult occupation.” I recently visited Laney at her home on Dry Creek near Crowheart, Wyoming. Her light-filled house overlooks a creek, willows, and mountains extending beyond for miles. She has a Continued on page 20

“ and artistic tools are used interchangeably, the hallmark of a naturalist artist.”

Laney (United States, b. 1942), Playground, 2004. Oil on Board. 40 x 27 inches. Donated by the artist in recognition of the work of wildlife biologist John Mionczynski, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Laney.

l in a family where her natural devotion to aney was born in Colorado and grew up

animals was encouraged. She earned a B.F.A. from the University of Denver and began her career in fine art as an illustrator for biology textbooks. Laney is an environmentalist, conservationist, and a photographer in addition to being an award winning wildlife artist. She has worked for the Sierra Club and the Bureau of Land Management. Her paintings have been in regional, national, and international exhibitions; and in the permanent collections of many museums. For more information about Laney, visit SunnybankStudio.com.

front-row seat for a 360-degree wildlife show every day. While I was there, we watched songbirds at a feeder, a flock of chukars in the late afternoon light, and a herd of mule deer passing through. She recounted recent visits by bears, moose, and a bobcat. “There is no shortage of first hand information,” she says, keeping binoculars, camera, and journal always at hand to take advantage of this incredible access. Scientific and artistic tools are used interchangeably, the hallmark of a naturalist artist. After gathering the information, she assimilates it into an artistic vision. “My artistic technique is directed toward translating this firsthand knowledge into a painting. A certain amount of mental visualization goes on while I think about behavior I have observed. I have to form this information into an artistic expression.” Laney’s paintings strike a beautiful balance between scientific illustration at one end of the spectrum and unbridled artistic license at the other end. To capture the essence of her animal subjects, she draws the best from her understanding of each realm. “Objective observations, field research and attention to a unified and truthful presentation are important to me,” she says. Also important is the use of “animals and habitat.” Spoken like a true ethologist. Konrad Lorenz would have approved. I asked Laney to elaborate on her personal connection to individual animals since this is clearly important to her. “It is something outside myself that makes me feel part of a whole. I realize that animals also reach out for connection between species. There are so many examples of this connection today, in terms of scientific publications and documented interactions with specific, individual animals. I can talk about my special chukar who came each evening, while his mate was sitting on eggs, to spend a half hour with me on my front step. He would just eat a few seeds and sit with me, and, when it was time to go find a place to sleep, he would walk

Joseph Wolf (Germany, 1820 – 1899), Arctic Hares, 1876. Watercolor. 9 7/8 x 8 inches. JKM Collection©, National Museum of Wildlife Art.

away. There were no words, just a good feeling between us and we sought out each other’s company. Later, the hen chukar brought her chicks around the house because she felt safe.” Laney continues, “This type of interaction definitely influences my portrayal of what I paint. Not only is there an emotional connection but the animals, when they feel safe, do their natural behavior right there in front of me.” The more Laney observes wildlife, the more she finds we have in common with them. “Animals have many of the same emotions and life situations as humans. If you watch a child interact with an animal there are few barriers. Children have no biases; they don’t put animals above or below themselves. Sometimes we lose this connection as we grow up.” One of the goals of this exhibit is to remind people of our deep connections with wildlife and to examine the factors that contribute to our current relationship with animals and nature. Because visual images speak to us differently, audiences will gain an appreciation for the natural world that goes beyond words. Laney explains “art can get closer to the truth in its holistic, emotional appeal to our senses.” Even though a painting depicts an instant in time, the artist who spends time with animals brings to it the experience and knowledge acquired over a lifetime. This exhibit will lead people to recognize their connection to nature and how powerful that can be. When viewing Laney’s paintings you feel strength and power in the clouds and rocks, the personality of the animals, and the life in the plants.

Laney (United States, b. 1942), Rainwater. Oil. 24 x 18 inches. © Laney

can get closer to the truth in its holistic, emotional appeal to our senses.” - Laney

Darwin’s extensive observations and discoveries led people to reframe how they viewed life itself. We started seeing plants and animals as objects of study in their own right, separate and independent from our reliance on them and their usefulness to us. A new sense of respect and awe was born. Increased understanding and respect between species is needed more today than ever. The future preservation of all species depends on it. Alliances between artists and scientists have, historically, been powerful. What they can teach us is vitally important. Darwin’s Legacy: The Evolution of Wildlife Art will be on exhibition October 12, 2013 - April 27, 2014 in the Gilcrease and Changing Visions Galleries

Nick Brandt (England, b. 1966), Windswept Lion, Serengeti, 2002. Archival Pigment Ink Photograph on Paper. 22 x 28 inches. Promised Gift of Lynn and Foster Friess, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Nick Brandt.

THE AFRICAN PHOTOGRAPHY OF

NI C K BRANDT Nick’s exquisite photographs arouse deep emotions. They inspire a sense of awe at the beauty of creation and the sacredness of life. It is almost impossible to look through his work without sensing the personalities of the beings whom he has photographed. - Jane Goodall

Interview compiled by Bronwyn Minton

Inspiring appreciation for their subjects and for Nick Brandt, the artist behind the camera, this exhibition of photographs of African animals simply amazes the senses. Brandt is known for not using telephoto lenses, so that the viewer can better see the animals within the context of their environment. That way, the photos become as much about the atmosphere of the place as the animals and being that close, the viewer gets a real sense of intimate connection. COTW: Describe your vision behind the way that you photograph the animals. What reactions did you hope your photos would evoke from viewers? BRANDT: When I began photographing this project in 2001, the intent was to memorialize the vanishing natural grandeur of East Africa, before it disappeared…to record a last testament. However, even back then, I had no idea that the progression of destruction would occur at the breakneck speed

that is currently happening. The trilogy of books, which will be completed with the publication of the final book in September 2013, further reflects the speed of the change, with a much darker vision for the final body of work. The early work was still mostly capturing a kind of Eden, a somewhat romantic view of this world that is now something of an illusion. In terms of the style in which I shoot, it was always to photograph the animals no differently to the way I would photograph human beings. If I was taking a portrait of an interesting football player, I wouldn’t take a photo of him in midaction on the football field. I’d take a photo in which he is presenting himself for his portrait. So that’s what I do, more so now than ever, I wait for the animals to present themselves for their portraits. The inevitable frustrating thing is I can’t tell them how to pose or when, so I have to exercise patience and wait for those rare moments. As part of that same intent—I don’t use telephoto or zoom lenses. With a telephoto lens, the photographer is generally framing the animal against earth or scrub that has little poetry or beauty, whereas I want to see as much of the sky Continued on page 24

and landscape as possible. I want to frame the animals within the context of their environment, their world. I believe that being that close to the animal makes a huge difference in the photographer’s ability to reveal its personality. You wouldn’t take a portrait of a human being from a hundred feet away and expect to capture their spirit; you’d move in close. I hope the photos help convey to the viewer the same sense I feel—that these animals have a spirit, a personality. I see them as sentient creatures little different from us, and I photograph them accordingly. COTW: Describe your path to conservation. How did your photography lead you to the founding of Big Life Foundation?

BRANDT: In July 2010, I returned to Amboseli National Park in Kenya for the first time in two years. Over the previous eight years, I had spent many months photographing the elephants that live there. As a result, I had been fortunate to know these elephants and their habits intimately. But what I witnessed during that trip was very different to those in earlier years. Nick Brandt (England, b. 1966). Elephant with Exploding Dust, Amboseli, 2004. Archival Pigment Ink Photograph on Paper. 27 x 27 inches. Promised Gift of Lynn and Foster Friess, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Nick Brandt. On the western side of the park, I tried to approach what had once been a few of the most relaxed of elephant herds, elephants that, in “The relationship has been drawn and redrawn the past, quietly made their daily journey to the countless times across a wide variety of swamps, moving right past the vehicle without a care in the world. This time they would run in cultures as people use animals in art to tell terrified panic. Meanwhile, gunshots were being stories about the world in which we live.” reported from the direction the elephants came, near the Tanzanian border. I tried telling the authorities where to look, but nothing was done. COTW: What has been the most challenging aspect of Big Life Foundation for you as a photographer? The Kenya Wildlife Service is underfunded; there were almost no What has been the most rewarding aspect? NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in the area, and those that were there had almost no money at all. On the Tanzanian side, there was no one at all to talk to. Whilst there, I also discovered that 49-year- BRANDT: The challenge has been not allowing the photography to be compromised because of the time I now need to focus on old Igor (as named by Cynthia Moss of Amboseli Elephant Research), Big Life. It’s incredibly challenging in terms of time expended. the elephant in my Elephant Drinking photo, had been killed the year I now have a whole other unpaid career that is a full-time job in before. As had Marianna, the matriarch leading her herd boldly and itself. The most rewarding aspect is, of course, the sheer number purposefully in the photograph Elephants Walking Through Grass. of animals saved and the surprisingly huge difference Big Life has After consultations with the Kenya Wildlife Service, I called already made to an entire ecosystem. I was especially pleased when renowned Kenyan conservationist, Richard Bonham. I told him we heard reports from the “poaching grapevine” in other parts of my ideas and asked him if he knew anyone I could hire. He said Kenya and Tanzania—to avoid the areas we patrol, because “there that he had been shouting everything I was saying from the were rangers and their informers behind every tree.” treetops for years but he never had the funds to implement. At that moment, we agreed to join forces. He became Director of Elegy: The African Photography of Nick Brandt will be on Operations for Big Life Foundation. exhibition January 18 – April 20, 2014 in the King Gallery. As of today, Big Life has 280 rangers, with 23 outposts and 15 vehicles protecting 2 million acres of wilderness in the AmboseliTsavo ecosystem of East Africa.

Photos courtesy of the author.

T he Roar of Cracking Ice Interview compiled by Irene M.K. Rawlings

retel Erlich is the winner of many awards, notable among them the 2010 PEN New England’s Henry David Thoreau Prize for excellence in nature writing, and she is one of the wave of contemporary nature writers who combines modern scientific knowledge with a traditional sensibility. She has spent much of the last 20 years traveling in the Arctic (mainly in Greenland) and was awarded two Expedition Council Grants from the National Geographic Society for circumpolar travel in the high arctic. She has written 13 books. (Gretel–Erlich.com) We caught up with her in her off-thegrid cabin at the foot of the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Call of the Wild: In your book The Future of Ice you say there are clear signs of climate change. Are you seeing them in the Arctic or also in Wyoming? Gertel Erlich: I wasn’t particularly even thinking about the changing climate until I experienced it first hand in the Arctic…in northwestern Greenland. I had been going to Greenland every year…for a month or two at a time…and living on the ice with an Inuit family group of subsistence hunters. One day our sleds just went through the ice and we quickly realized that something was changing. To see the ice start breaking up all around us was a “feet up” experience. COTW: And what are you seeing near your home in Wyoming? Erlich: We’re seeing the American West in a state of persistent drought. I can look out on a 10,000-acre meadow…home and hunting ground to grizzlies, black bear, wolves, coyotes, and lots of antelope. But, last year in mid-summer, I saw a moose traipsing along toward the middle of the meadow with her

calf trailing behind her. She stopped at each of the kettle ponds and looked in. They were dry. It is hard to be there and watch this happen. I have taken galvanized tubs, pulled them as far from my little house as I can and filled them with water…making a galvanized water hole for the animals. COTW: Why are glaciers and ice fields important to the planet? Erlich: For seals, walrus, whales, eider ducks, narwhals, and other arctic animals, ice is like the soil in which we grow our food. When the ice shrinks and disappears, their sources of food diminish and their species are threatened. Ice is also an archivist and historian of our planet. It receives and stores everything that comes out of the air—pollen, ash, dust, and also pollutants like soot and heavy metals. The more we pollute the air, the more detritus drops on the ice, which makes the ice melt faster. Ice’s archival aspect is wonderful and terrifying at the same time when we see what’s actually in the ice—the good and bad all pressed together. COTW: Are we seeing disappearing ice fields also in the U.S.? Erlich: Yes. With global warming, the snow packs are less each year and, well, Glacier National Park could soon lose all of its ice fields. You know…back in the 19th century, Robert Green Ingersoll said this: “In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are only consequences.” And he was right. COTW: You have said that is too late to ‘replace’ polar ice but is there something that can be done to slow the planet’s warming? Erlich: Ice deflects solar heat back out into space. An open ocean is just like a heat sink.

Pavement is also a heat sink. I think we need to work really hard to stop our planet from becoming one giant heat sink by encouraging the people to keep grasslands as grasslands and forests as forests…instead of tearing things up for development. We can’t stop the industrial growth of other nations but we can conserve our land and the wildlife that depends on it. It is one of the great ways we can mitigate a heating planet. COTW: You are often gone for months at a time to remote places of beauty and solitude. When you return to your cabin, you also have beauty and solitude. How does it feel to be gone? How does it feel to come back? Erlich: Silence…the kind of quiet you can only have without the hum of electricity or the intrusion of man-made noises…it is what I call “blessed silence.” It enables me to observe, to think, and to write. With every breath we take and every foot we plant on the ground, we are part of the whole system and machinery of weather and climate, of life and death. Every second is life and every second is death. It is always about impermanence.

COTW: Please speak a little more about your ties to nature and to the wildlife of your beloved Wyoming Erlich: John Muir wrote, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread.” Maybe this is why I am so moved to write about the fierce and unforgiving beauty of nature and the wilderness…and its animals who hold us to what is real and true—to what we are, not who we’ve been or how we’re described by our bank accounts. I like this honesty, the honesty of solitude, silence, and the open spaces... and try to make it feel as much alive for my readers as it is for me.

Ancient Traditions The Whetzel Collection of Pueblo and Pre-Pueblo Pottery Curated by Jenna Kloeppel, 2012 McGee Curatorial Intern

clockwise from top left: Jennie Laate (1933-c.1990s). Zuni Polychrome Olla, 1981. 8 1/2 x 9 inches; Mogollon. Mimbres Classic White-on-Black Bowl, c. 1000. 3 1/2 x 8 inches. Nellie Bica (1904-c.1990s). Zuni Polychrome Bowl, c. 1980. 4 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches; Anasazi. Tularosa Black-on-white Effigy Olla, 1100-1250. 6 1/2 x 7 inches. All art works pictured: Gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua C. Whetzel, Jr., National Museum of Wildlife Art.

or many centuries, Southwestern Native Americans and their ancestors have produced ceramic objects decorated with intricate and nuanced symbols representing animals, humans, and natural phenomena. This exhibit explores some of these symbols and provides insight into the complex artistic relationships between Southwestern Native Peoples and their environment, whether that environment is land, air, and water, the underworld or the heavens, or the animals that serve as central figures in Native survival, spirituality, and oral tradition. One of the main underlying themes of the exhibit is the temporal nature of these artifacts, referring to issues of both time and secularity. While objects in this exhibition were created by various artists, in differing locations and eras, when viewed together, they constitute a continuum of human creation; they are timeless in their representation of the human need to create. They are also temporary in that they were not created to last forever. Pueblo ceramics traditionally function much like humans themselves, in that they have finite life spans. They are crafted of earth and they will one day return to the earth, after they have served their function and purpose. As such, they are viewed by Pueblo people as This exhibition proudly displays having souls. Acoma artist a collection of pottery recently Wanda Aragon says, “You’re donated by Mr. and Mrs. Joshua always talking to the pot when C. Whetzel, Jr. The Museum is you are making it – telling it grateful to the Whetzels for their your feelings – and when you support of this exhibit and to finish a pot, you blow life into it Jenna Kloeppel, the 2012 McGee and it is given life. At the end of a Curatorial Intern, for curating pot’s life, when the pot is killed, the exhibit and helping all of us the spirit is let go. We still do it increase our knowledge about that way today, an olla is broken this wonderful donation. over the deceased (person) and – Adam Duncan Harris Ph.D. it is buried with them.” Pueblo ceramics have been created with various purposes, whether ritual, functional, a combination thereof, or, as has been the case especially in the past century, as artistic commodity. In addition to describing time, the word temporal indicates secularity. While integrating more ethereal notions of spirituality, much of Pueblo religion is based in the secular. Pueblo religious beliefs feature earthly reminders of the spiritual; animals, for example, transcend various spiritual planes, including the heavens and the underworld, but they are also present in a very earthly, material manner. Birds fly through air, land on earth, interact with humans, and sometimes even swim, thus occupying the heavens, the earth, and the watery underworld. Snakes go underground, into the earthen underworld, and in doing so, transcend natural barriers that exist for humans. Snakes also shed their skin, emerging as new and fresh beings after each shedding cycle. These remarkable animal characteristics are signifiers of the divine in the Pueblo worldview. In this way, the spiritual aspect of Pueblo life is present in earthly encounters between humans, animals, and the physical earth itself, from which clay is extracted. The secular and the spiritual coexist, not distinct from each other, but rather as the driving force of existence.

Three major Ancestral Native groups are represented in this exhibition: Ancestral Pueblo, Hohokam, and Mogollon. Descendants of these groups live today in Pueblos and reservations located primarily in New Mexico and Arizona. Research regarding these ancient cultures relies heavily on ethnographic analogy, the comparison between iconography of an ancient culture with that of contemporary descendants of that culture. Most contemporary Pueblos trace their lineage through oral histories to Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited the Four Corners region, sites such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. Some Pueblos also trace lineage to the Mogollon Culture, which thrives in present-day southern New Mexico and northern Mexico. The Hohokam culture is regarded by the Tohono O’odham people in present-day Arizona as their Ancestral group. Examining the art of contemporary Native communities, it is possible to trace artistic development, to glean iconographic meanings, and, thus, to gain insight into Ancestral Native objects.

“Animals continue to convey spiritual significance and to serve as communicators of the divine... secular inhabitants of the earth.” Scholars have noted that around the end of the 19th century, several Pueblos, including Acoma, Laguna, and Zia, began utilizing stylistic motifs that were likely derived from outside sources such as imported textiles. Some of the 20th-century ceramic pieces in this exhibit showcase a pan-Pueblo style of depiction, which developed around the time tourism was experiencing a boom in the Southwest due to the popularity of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. During this period, ceramic artists began to sign names to their work, placing unprecedented emphasis on the individual and creating a new group of highly sought-after Native artists. Easel painting emerged in the early 20th century as a new form of Pueblo art thanks to the teachings of Santa Fe Indian School instructor, Dorothy Dunn. Dunn developed a painting style, dubbed Studio Style, which emphasized one-dimensionality, animal subject matter, and stylized decorative flourishes reminiscent of historic Pueblo pottery designs. With the advent of easel painting in the Pueblos, a new function evolved in Pueblo art: that of pure decoration. Modern ceramics and paintings present identifiable animal representations, most popularly birds, deer, and other native southwestern fauna. Although the mode of depiction is vastly altered from that of Ancestral Pueblo vessels, and the pieces may carry the functions of artistic commodity or pure decoration, the underlying themes in the works remain intact. Animals continue to convey spiritual significance and to serve as communicators of the divine, as well as functioning as secular inhabitants of the earth. Ancient Traditions: The Whetzel Collection of Pueblo and Pre-Pueblo Pottery will be on exhibition May 18 - October 6, 2013 in the Kuhn Gallery.

Wild Wonders of Europe By Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D.

n May 8, 2008, the day before Europe Day, 55 of Europe’s top nature photographers embarked on 90 assignments to 44 countries. The fledgling Wild Wonders of Europe, now the world’s largest nature conservation communications initiative, sponsored this project, called “Great Wild Quest.” Its mission was “to reveal the amazing natural heritage of Europe and to inspire a desire to save it.” Staffan Widstrand, photographer and managing director of the “Great Wild Quest,” further described the project’s goals by saying, “It is all about love and passion. We want to touch the emotions of our 700 million fellow Europeans, and to reconnect them with their natural heritage. We will celebrate the comeback of Europe’s wildlife and the little-known Natura 2000 conservation effort, which has helped this success. We will also spotlight some serious challenges for Europe’s biodiversity. Finally, we will provide some answers to the deeper question, ‘What is Europe?’” The initial foray into the European hinterlands took

fourteen months and eventually included 118 different photographic assignments to all 48 European countries. Each different assignment took as its subject a unique aspect of European wildlife and nature with the hope that the resulting catalogue of images might provide the basis for a variety of projects to raise awareness about the state of wild nature in what is often assumed to be a completely domesticated realm of the earth. A main part of the project goal is to show “that European nature is yet far from being covered in concrete. It is actually still here, alive and kicking.” Florian Möllers, Wild Wonders of Europe communications director, commented, “Braving soaring heat, deep seas and extreme cold, our Dream Team of photographers has created a breathtaking document of our shared natural heritage. Physical proof of an amazing comeback story and showing a side of Europe previously not well known— with really wild landscapes and charismatic species. It is truly a unique achievement.” A major question the team asked themselves was: “What do we do with all of these stunning images now that we have them?”

“It is about the sheer joy of the wild, why it matters to us, and what we risk losing. It is about the natural heritage of a continent that is unseen, unexpected, and unforgettable.”

“Almost 20 percent of Europe ’s land surface is now protected— thanks in large part to conservation decisions taken in the last few decades.”

In addition to a website promoting the project and sharing the images, Wild Wonders of Europe published a major book in May of 2010, a collaborative effort between upper management at Wild Wonders including, Staffan Widstrand, Florian Möllers, Peter Cairns, business director, and Bridget Wijnberg, media and exhibition director. The authors stated, “From the polar bears of arctic Svalbard to the sea turtles of the Mediterranean, from the wild bison of Poland to the snow-covered glaciers of the Caucasus – for the first time ever, the wild beauty of Europe ’s landscapes and the immense diversity of its wildlife is being shown to the world. “Almost 20 percent of Europe ’s land surface is now protected— thanks in large part to conservation decisions taken in the last few decades. In many areas, important species have been protected, others have been successfully re-introduced to their natural habitats, and many damaged areas are being restored. Marking the International Year of Biodiversity, this book celebrates some concrete results of what is possible when humans take the right actions. But it also reminds us of the serious consequences of taking the wrong actions…or none at all. “Wild Wonders of Europe is about the wild places and wild creatures that are still out there. It is about the sheer joy of the wild, why it matters to us, and what we risk losing. It is about the natural heritage of a continent that is unseen, unexpected, and unforgettable.” The book was just the beginning of what has become a multipronged approach towards getting the Wild Wonders message to the public. Additional projects include a series of outdoor and indoor exhibitions, audio-visual shows, television programs, and lectures. Beginning in Europe, the multifaceted initiative has spread internationally. In late 2011, Vance Martin of the Wild Foundation, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, and Jon Mobeck of the Murie Center in Moose, Wyoming, brought the idea of hosting a Wild Wonders of Europe exhibit to staff at the National Museum of Wildlife Art as a part of a greater initiative to raise awareness about the upcoming Wild10 conference (October 4-10, 2013) in Salamanca, Spain. In conjunction with the Wild Foundation and the Murie Center, Staffan Widstrand delivered a stirring presentation to a packed house at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in October of 2012. As a part of our ongoing fall photography series, the museum hosts an exhibit featuring 40 photographs from Wild Wonders of Europe. These images will raise awareness about Europe’s often-overlooked wilderness and wildlife. Wild Wonders of Europe will be on exhibition September 28, 2013 - January 5, 2014 in the King Gallery.

Look ing at W ildlife Ar t

Showstopper By Naturalist Bert Raynes

n Broadway the term showstopper refers to an artist or performer whose immediate preceding offering—a song, a speech, a dance—is so pleasing or gripping that the audience demands an encore. A new acquisition by the National Museum of Wildlife Art is a showstopper. You may be stopped in your tracks when you catch your first sight of it. It is a painting—oil on canvas—by the renowned 19th-century wildlife artist Joseph Wolf and was first exhibited in 1856 in London. Born in Germany, Joseph Wolf lived most of his life (1820-1899) in England where he worked at the British Museum as an illustrator for scores of explorers and collectors, at times even with Charles Darwin. Many of Wolf’s contemporaries considered him a pioneering wildlife painter.

“Gyrfalcons Striking a Kite...depicts a moment within the two-thousand year old history of falconry.” This painting is entitled Gyrfalcons Striking a Kite and depicts a moment within the two-thousand year old history of falconry. The two smaller birds, the Gyrfalcons, are captive birds: note the jesses used to tether the birds when not in flight. The white bird is probably from Greenland. The grey Gyrfalcon is perhaps from Scandinavia. They have been taught to hunt Kites as a pair or “cast.” The bird under attack is a Red Kite, likely in Wales, somewhere in England, or on the European continent. In nature, these three bird species would not have shared the same habitat. Both Gyrfalcons and Red Kites are birds of prey. Gyrfalcons prey predominantly on other birds. Red Kites have a wide range of prey species to choose from, including other birds’ nestlings, small mammals, earthworms, and carrion.

“After almost exterminating Red Kites, enlightenment dawned and people have gone to great lengths to preserve the species.” Notice that the Gyrfalcons are using their feet to attack. Beaks are open on each bird but not used as weapons. Encounters like this are deadly serious, though. In the mid-1980s in Great Britain, misguided people tried to preserve grouse populations by killing off another predator, the Red Kites. People wanted to hunt the grouse themselves and took this unfortunate management path. It may be that this famous painting shows one such management attempt. After almost exterminating Red Kites, enlightenment dawned and people have gone to great lengths to preserve the species. Notice, too, in the left rear background, a hare leaving the scene. Hares are prey items for Red Kites. Joseph Wolf spent most of his career depicting the struggle for existence in nature as his central theme. Gyrfalcons Striking a Kite is one of Joseph Wolf’s most honored works. The National Museum of Wildlife Art is fortunate to own it. I’ll bet if you are unfamiliar with this wildlife artist’s work and influence—as I was—you would be well rewarded to become familiar with it. Bert Raynes is a beloved local and nationally known naturalist. His weekly column in the Jackson Hole News&Guide and his books—Valley So Sweet, Curmudgeon Chronicles, Birds of Jackson Hole, Winter Wings, and Birds of Sage and Scree—inspire readers to understand, explore, and Photo by Kathy Robertson, TreasuresISeek.com protect the beautiful valley of Jackson Hole. His books can be found in the Museum Shop. He was chosen as the recipient of the prestigious 2001 Rungius Medal for his tireless work in raising awareness and appreciation of the natural world and the precious creatures that inhabit it.

Joseph Wolf (Germany, 1820 – 1899), Gyrfalcons Striking a Kite, 1856. Oil on Canvas. 71 x 59 inches. Generously donated by Cornelia Guest and the Robert S. and Grayce B. Kerr Foundation. JKM Collection©, National Museum of Wildlife Art.

Eric Desmazieres (Morocco, b. 1948), Wunderkammer, II, 1998. Etching and Auquatint on laid Japan paper, 10 ½ x 21 inches. JKM Collection, National Museum of Wildlife Art. Eric Desmazieres, © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

In t h e Sp o t l i g h t

Wonder Cabinet: A Collection of Curiosities By Bronwyn Minton, Assistant Curator of Art

T he desire and impulse to collect is an age old pursuit.

Reasons for collecting are many—knowledge, fascination, and preservation. People collect art, books, teapots, spoons, wheel covers, and Grateful Dead bootlegs. Other species collect things too. Many animals cache food, but crows, brown rats, pack rats, ferrets, and dolphins also collect interesting objects unrelated to food. How we collect, what we collect and how we group these things together constitutes the difference between a “pack rat” collection versus a collection of things that are useful in the study and preservation of our world, both natural and manmade. Before we had libraries and museums of art, natural history, and history, personal collections of “things” were common. Sixteenthcentury Europeans with means began collecting unusual natural objects, scientific devices and artifacts from around the world. People began assembling things that held personal meaning for them from their travels, religious items, relics, and things they didn’t understand but wanted to study. The collections were displayed in their homes in special rooms and shown to their guests. These rooms represented a display of wealth and knowledge and an attempt to order and understand the world. The collections frequently included what we would now classify as objects of natural history, art objects, anthropological specimens, and a mixture of other objects of questionable veracity and value. To the modern eye the groupings of objects in the rooms may seem random or even quite misinformed—a piece of coral next to a human skull or an ancient Greek coin next to an African mask.

The names given to these collections were Cabinet of Curiosities, a Cabinet of Wonder, or Wunderkammer. The collection was “curated” by the collector and was a vehicle for the individual to display both his wealth and his knowledge of the world. It was a source of contemplation, marvel and study. Before we truly began classifying things as animal, vegetable, mineral, or art and artifact, we classified things by their sameness or difference in color, size, and place of origin. This resulted in some interesting juxtapositions and assumptions. These one-of-a-kind collections were precursors to the modern museum. The groupings eventually led to a formalized classification of natural objects and to the creation of areas of study: anthropology, art, history, and natural history. Cabinets of Wonder are still a topic of fascination for individuals and museums alike. Cabinets provide a way to reflect on our need to collect, arrange and tell personal and cultural stories. They allow us to reflect on the categories we have created to create order in the world. Our exhibit Wonder Cabinet: A Collection of Curiosities will include objects from the Museum’s collection, things on loan from select community members, and art commissioned for the exhibit. Wonder Cabinet will elicit a new sense of amazement and awe of the natural word, and create a dialogue about collections, art, natural history, and the pursuit of knowledge. Wonder Cabinet: A Collection of Curiosities will be on exhibition November 15, 2013 - April 13, 2014 in the Members Gallery. This will be the third installment at the Museum of a community-focused exhibit curated by Bronwyn Minton.

Explore a Bi t More

Traveling Trout Exhibit My Students’ Experiences

By Jim Gilman, Art Instructor, Powell High School, Powell, Wyoming

was excited to see the “Traveling Trout” contest and exhibit announced during the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s 25th Anniversary. My students competed in the “Wild About Bears” contest five years ago and they had a blast. The “Traveling Trout” contest offered my new students the same opportunity. They were immediately excited when they saw the blank trout forms. This project is different from other individual and group projects because my students get to experience the sense of competition and collaboration. My students each came up with a design. Then, as a group, they decided on the best attributes of each design. A compromise was reached and work on the final design began. This was not an easy process, and, even now, some students are not completely sold on the final vision. I was surprised at the passion the students had for their individual design features, and at their work and determination to get their designs incorporated into the final product. One of the real benefits of the design process was the negotiating and the persuasion that had to take place for everyone to be happy with the final product. These are exactly the type of skills that they will need in the real world, no matter what their career choice. Communication was also a skill that had to be used. Not all the students worked on the project at the same time, so communicating what needed to happen next, or design feature ideas and changes was paramount. Brainstorming the choice of material and alternatives has also been a fantastic learning experience for them. The opportunity to win a substantial cash prize is definitely a huge benefit for our classroom. My students have already put in their advice on what art materials we should buy…if their design ends up on the list of winners. The cash prize—money to augment our school’s art program budget—also adds some additional “weight” to the contest. I see some students taking the project more seriously than normal “group” projects. They know this is important.

Powell High School students work to complete their entry for the Traveling Trout contest in honor of the Museum’s 25th Anniversary year. All photos courtesy of Powell HIgh School. Below is the completed trout design by the Powell High School students.

Traveling Trout will be on exhibition May 4 - October 6, 2013 on the Sculpture Trail.

Announcing the 2013 Western Visions Featured Artists ®

Visit WesternVisions.org to view the program schedule, online art catalog, and more.

FE ATURED PAINTER

FE ATURED SCULPTOR

Mark Eberhard

Veryl Goodnight

ark Eberhard was educated at Yale University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in graphic design. His paintings have been selected for the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s Birds In Art® exhibitions. Courtesy of Mark Eberhard. Collections and commissions include the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia. He has been featured in numerous publications, including Southwest Art. He is represented in Jackson Hole,Wyoming, by Astoria Fine Art Gallery. He currently resides in Terrace Park, Ohio, with his wife, Alice, and two dogs.

eryl Goodnight said, “Since my career began in 1968, I have had the opportunity to learn from many of the greatest artists today, but it is perhaps the animals themselves that have taught me the most.” She and her husband, Roger Brooks, live near Courtesy of Veryl Goodnight. Durango, Colorado. The dramatic landscape that varies from mountain peaks to red rock canyons, the abundant wildlife, and the ranching community provide endless inspiration. She is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, as well as a member of the Northwest Rendezvous Group and the Society of Animal Artists. Her work was featured in a retrospective at Gilcrease Museum in 2011.

E B E R H A R D ’ S F E A T UR E D A R T I S T P R O G R A M

G O O D N I G H T ’ S F E A T UR E D A R T I S T P R O G R A M

Thursday, September 12 @ 1:00pm: Process and Sketch Workshop. Learn the process Mark uses to create his masterpieces. You will see how Mark uses photographs and the computer to create an image he will then paint on canvas.

Thursday, September 12 @ 10:00am: Lecture and Sketch Workshop. Listen to Veryl talk about the evolution of dog to wolf. Your will see how she connects the evolution process and sketch a piece of art. There will be a live “model” here for the event.

August 31–September 22, 2013

The 2nd Annual Plein Air Fest on the Sculpture Trail Visit WildlifeArt.org to view the participating artists and more!

rtists will be creating artwork live at the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Plein Air Fest. The artists will be competing for a crowd-voted Best in Show award as they race to complete their masterpieces in a mere four hours. In addition to watching artists work, the fun-for-families event features live music, a chance for kids to get in on the creative action with games, and a Jambalaya cook-off with visitors tasting and voting for their favorite. The chef with the most votes for best fare will win a cash prize. Participating artists agree to arrive at the festival with an uncompleted artwork that can be finished within the four-hour timeframe. The Plein Air Fest’s freshly painted or sculpted artworks will be sold by “silent bid.” The lucky purchaser will be able to take a piece of Jackson Hole home that day.

PA R T I C I PAT I N G A R T I S T S Zach Babat Pat Branting Nicholas Coleman Eliot Goss Dwayne Harty Fred Kingwill Todd Kosharek Tracy Miller Doug Monson

(as of 3/1/13)

Cathy Munson Chris Navaro Liz Park Amy Poor Chad Poppleton John Potter Lee Carlman Riddell Amy Ringholz Bill Sawczuk

Lyn St. Clair Kay Stratman Albin Veselka Bart Walker Aaron Wallis Sarah Webber Greg Woodard Aaron Yount

(Top) Guests of the Plein Air Fest browse the fresh art works. (Below L to R) Kay Stratman creating aspens; Bill Sawczuk’s masterpiece of the Museum; Amy Poor putting the finishing touches on her bear.

it’s all in the open air Saturday, June 22 • 10am – 4pm Plein Air Quick Draw, 10am – 2pm

Over 30 artists creating live with just four hours to complete their masterpiece. Browse and bid on the fresh artworks! Artworks sold by “Silent Bid”.

Jambalaya Cook-off with Local Chefs

Taste and Vote for People’s Choice Award • Children’s Games and Activities Live music by local artists • Rising Sage Café will also offer good eats for sale. Cook-off Tickets (includes voting!) $10 for 10 tastes, $25 for unlimited tastes.

WildlifeArt.org | 800-313-9553 37

Art Beat 2012–13 Western Visions® Show & Sale

Sue Carlman and Lee Carlman- Riddell.

Eric Harslem and Rani Clasqin.

Leslie Hazelwood and Darci Tucker.

Georgene Tozzi, Laura McNutt, Rachel Pettengill and Hugo Rodriguez.

Western Visions® Wild West Artist Party

Western Visions® Jewelry Luncheon

Lee and Sherry Beasley, David and Jane Thompson, Beverly and Mark Funke.

Kristie Grigg and Patricia Dempsey. Carol Marshall, Patty Hartnett, and Leslie Rockey.

Mark and Kristi Williamson.

Western Visions® Artist Breakfast

Adam Harris presents the Kuhn Award to artist Andrew Denman.

School Arts Spectacular

2012 Western Visions artists at Spring Creek Ranch.

Music in Nature

Art in Action

Windsync, an energetic woodwind quintet, performs under the porte-cochère.

Weaving with fiber artist Doris Florig.

Fifth graders from Colter Elementary posing with their artwork.

Learning to paint using watercolor with artist Lee Riddell.

Outdoor printmaking with Mark Ritchie.

Mix’d Media

Mix’d Media always offers fun art projects!

Casey Stout and Katie Colbert Lynn Friess, Stephanie Brennan, Debbie Petersen, Tony and Joy showing off their handmade kite. Greene, and Ann and Dick O’Leary.

Topher Patten fly tying for the first time.

Capturing Art, People, and the Museum First Annual Plein Air Fest

Bill Sawczuk painting the beautiful Museum architecture.

Amy Ringholz creating a plein air masterpiece.

Greg Woodard teaching the kids how to create a sculpture.

Kathryn Mapes-Turner taking a break to pose for the camera.

Sculpture Trail Installations

4th of July Parade

Running Wild 5K & 10K Race

Artist Richard Loffler and his family during the unveiling of his monumental sculpture, Buffalo Trail.

Carl waving to Museum fans on the Jackson Hole Town Square!

Mike Galvin, Alexandra Morley, Flynn Govern, Jill Callahan, Evan Roy, and Laurie Huff.

Joy and Tony Greene with Presidential Eagle artist Sandy Scott.

Simon Gudgeon visiting the Museum for the installation of Isis.

Yoga on the Trail

Old Bills Fun Run

Summer yoga classes on the Sculpture Trail overlooking the Elk Refuge and Sleeping Indian.

Ginger Friess drawing at the Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Old Billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fun Run tent.

Wild About the Season

Harvest on the Hill

Santa listens to all the gift requests!

Wild West bandanna decorating. Ronin Zell is very proud of his creation!

Black Bear Gala

To the next 25 years! Founders Joffa and Bill Kerr.

Peter and Carol Coxhead and Ann and Senator Alan Simpson.

Julie and Will Obering and Camille Obering Musser.

Stephanie Brennan and her son Patrick Brennan.

Sierra Fulton, Don Alsted, and September Vhay.

M USEU M N E W S

Collectors Circle Highlights By Adam D. Harris, Ph.D. and Bronwyn Minton

his past year’s the Collectors Circle purchased seven individual artworks by five artists for the permanent collection. In a first for this event, all of the artworks purchased were created by contemporary female artists. The selection adds to the Museum’s ability to display the wide range of art incorporating wildlife from historic masters to today’s greatest artists. Barbara Kassel’s painting, Wet Weather, immediately went on display in our Fall/ Winter exhibit Human/Nature, while Penelope Gottleib’s work (page 20) will be featured during the summer of 2013 in Amazing Animals: John James Audubon to Andy Warhol.

(Right) Barbara Kassel, Wet Weather, 2012. Gift of the 2012 Collectors Circle with Additional Assistance from Generous Patrons. ©Barbara Kassel.

Individual Solutions from Independent Advisors

Se curitie S o ffe re d thr ough

FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC Me Mbe r fiN r A / Si Pc

Judith C. Singleton President & Investment Executive RaymondJames.com/JacksonHole | Judith.Singleton@raymondJames.com Po box 508 | 170 e broadway, Ste 100d, Jackson, WY 83001 |

ph:

307-732-6652 |

fax:

307-732-6658

M USEU M N E W S

The Bull-Bransom Award T

Trustee Lynn Friess and 2012 Bull-Bransom Award winner, Sylvia Long. Long’s illustrations were lauded for their detail and striking compositions by the Bull-Bransom judges.

(Dreamers Don’t Sleep, by artist Amy Ringholz shown in background)

he Bull-Bransom Award is named for Charles Livingston Bull (1874-1932) and Paul Bransom (1885–1979), two of the first American artist-illustrators to specialize in wildlife subjects. Both artists had tremendous impact on younger wildlife artists, both created numerous Silvia Long, illustrator, a butterfly children’s books, and both are is patient, 2012. well represented in the National Museum of Wildlife Art collection. The award was created in 2010 and is given annually to recognize excellence in the field of children’s book illustration with a focus on nature and wildlife. Created in the tradition of such prestigious children’s book illustrator awards as the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King and Hans Christian Andersen awards, the Bull-Bransom Award is presented in the form of a medal and $5,000 cash award. For more information on the Bull-Bransom Award, please visit WildlifeArt.org or call 307-733-5771.

Bull-Bransom Nominations for Books Published in 2012 The winner of the 2013 award will be announced on May 3, 2013.

This Moose Belongs to Me, Olliver Jeffers, Philomel Books, New York, 2012.

Oh, No! Words by Candace Fleming, Pictures by Eric Rohmann, Schwartz & Wade Books, New York, 2012.

More, by I.C. Springman, Illustrated by Brian Lies, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghten Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 2012.

Bear Has a Story to Tell, Written by Philip C. Stead, Illustrated by Erin E. Stead, A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2012.

Nightsong, by Ari Berk, Illustrated by Loren Long, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2012.

volun t eers

Thank You to Our 2012–13 Volunteers! Volunteer s Maryann Abrahams Ann Alsted Joan Baldwin Jan Benz Darlene Blazek Susan Chambers MaryLou Cass Michael DiFiglia Jenny Felsinger Natalie Goss Sharon Gunberg Caroline Haines Patten Jan Herbst Susanne Jackson Sally Johnson Diane Key Megan Lally Harry Lawroski Mary Ann Lawroski Gail Magid Roseanne Magid Steve Malaschock Patricia Martin Dan Matzke Marilyn May Marie Louise McCormack Reggie McNamara Teddie Lou McNamara Erika Muschaweck Ann Nelson Claudia Perry Judy Pilgrim Norma Price ƚ Pam Sanders Kathy Tams Sarah Tams Ken Thomasma Sheila Tintera Matthew Wegher John Wilson ƚ Deceased, May 30, 2012

Volunteers: 2012 in Photos

Museum Docent and Volunteer Events, Outings, and Celebrations

Gallery Guides Patricia Dempsey Joe DiFiglia Desmond Jennings Charlotte Kidd Carla Kussner Ron Stevens Marsha Wackerly Mary Willis

Gallery Guides Charlotte Kidd and Ron Stevens enjoying Black Bear Gala.

Volunteer of the Year Bobbi Thomasma facilitating an art project during Wild About the Season.

D ocents Don Alsted Sally Berman Greg Brondos Susan Brooks Jim Byrne Sally Byrne Lisa Carlin Marilyn Gschwind Gigi Halloran Ann Keller Louise Koegler Annabelle Lerch Joanne Leusch Jane Malashock Julie Matzke Bob Martin Pamela McCool Cynthia Quast Ellen Sanford Carol Schneebeck Regina Schultz Caroline Taylor Bobbi Thomasma— Volunteer of the Year

Cynthia Quast and Jane Malashock taking a break from volunteering for the evening. Reggie McNamara holds down the water table at the Running Wild 5K and 10K race in August.

Mary Waid and Maggie Davis enjoying the annual Volunteer Party.

Assistant Curator of Education Carter Cox working on a membership mailing with Volunteer Jenny Felsinger.

Martha Van Genderen Mary Waid

YOU T H Volunteer s Topher Patten Parker Patten (as of March 2013)

Volunteers enjoy an afternoon touring local galleries and dining at the Snake River Brewery.

Clash of Thunder

31 ½" h Bronze

an apple a day

Headed for tHe HigH Country

18" h Bronze

22" H Bronze

t i m s h i n a ba rg e r one man show

• september 12 - 15th

Presenting 10 New Works

artist reception september 13, 2013 • 2:00 - 4:00 pm jackson, wyoming All artwork for the show may be viewed at www.legacygallery.com. Color catalogue available.

box

4977 • 75 north cache • jackson, wyoming 83001 • 307 733-2353 7178 main street • scottsdale, arizona 85251 www . legacygallery . com

A B OUT THE M USEU M

CALL OF THE WILD 2012–13 EDITION

publisher: Ponteir Sackrey

GENERAL INFORMATION LOCATED 2.5 miles North of Jackson Town Square

Editor: Irene M.K. Rawlings Art Director & Designer:

Sarah Nelsen, SarahDesigns.com Please kindly pass along this magazine to a friend or recycle.

[FSC LOGO HERE] (printer to insert)

[10% PCW RECYCLED LOGO HERE]

Museum Staff James C. McNutt, Ph.D., President & CEO Paul Barbour, Security Services Joe Bishop, Director of Facility & Security Services Carter Cox, Assistant Curator of Education Maggie Davis, Visitor Services Supervisor & Group Tour Coordinator Ron Gessler, Chief Preparator Amy Goicoechea, Associate Curator of Education Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D., Petersen Curator of Art & Research Jay Henderson, Manager of Maintenance & Custodial Services Susan Hersh, Museum Shop & Visitor Services Associate Lisa Holmes, Chief Financial Officer Laurie Jurekovic, Museum Shop & Visitor Services Associate Kim Kaufman, Visitor Services Associate Dawn K. Kimbrel, Registrar Jane Lavino, Sugden Family Curator of Education and Exhibits Jennifer Lee, Associate Director of Programs & Events Nancy Loyd, Executive Assistant to the President & CEO Bob Martin, Security Services Wendy Merrick, Manager of Events Bronwyn Minton, Assistant Curator of Art Robert Mull, Security Services Diane Palmore, Visitor Services Associate Rachel Pettengill, Assistant Director of Development Debbie Phillips, Marketing Coordinator Linda Rickman, Accounting Assistant Fallon Ryan, Development Coordinator Ponteir Sackrey, Barnes Family Director of Development & Marketing Steve Seamons, Director of Operations Victor Tzompa-Hernandez, Custodial & Maintenance Debbie Vassar, Manager of Retail Operations Marc Weimar, Security Services Emma Zanetti, Assistant Director of Marketing

Museum Hours Open daily. Summer 9:00am – 5:00pm. Fall, Winter, and Spring Monday – Saturday 9:00am – 5:00pm; Sunday 11:00am – 5:00pm. Closed Veterans, Thanksgiving, and Christmas days. Museum Shop For assistance, call 800-313-9553 or 307-732-5428. Discover beautiful jewelry, ceramics, toys, books, and interior furnishings inspired by nature. Open during museum hours. Rising Sage Café Featured on Rachel Ray’s $40 a Day and Food Network’s The Best of. Seats 45 for light meals, coffee, beer, and wine. Open daily 11:00am – 3:00pm. Library Open by appointment. Call 307-732-5451. Employment Opportunities WildlifeArt.org/Information/ Employment Book a Tour Maggie Davis, Visitor Services Supervisor & Group Tour Coordinator, 307-732-5426, mdavis@wildlifeart.org

national museum of wildlife art Address: 2820 Rungius Road Jackson, WY 83001 Phone: 800-313-9553 or 307-733-5771 FAX: 307-733-5787 Email: info@wildlifeart.org Website: WildlifeArt.org

Media Inquiries and Call of the Wild Magazine Ponteir Sackrey, Barnes Family Director of Development & Marketing, 307-732-5444, psackrey@wildlifeart.org Book our facility for meetings and gatherings Wendy Merrick, Manager of Events, 307-732-5418 Schedule a Youth Program Amy Goicoechea, Associate Curator of Education, 307-732-5435, agoicoechea@wildlifeart.org Giving Opportunities Ponteir Sackrey, Barnes Family Director of Development & Marketing, 307-7325444, psackrey@wildlifeart.org Become a Member or Give the Gift of membership Fallon Ryan, Development Coordinator, 307-732-5449, fryan@wildlifeart.org Learn more about Western Visions® Jennifer Lee, Associate Director of Programs & Events, 307-732-5412, jlee@wildlifeart.org, WesternVisions.org. Handicap Accessible The Museum is ADA compliant.

Photography by Latham Jenkins

William Albert Allard/National Geographic

THE COEUR D’ALENE ART AUCTION Fine 19th and 20th Century Western and American Art

1. Charles M. Russell (1864–1926), The Scouting Party, oil / canvas, 24 × 36”, $2-3,000,000 2. Gerard Curtis Delano (1890–1972), The Trail Ahead, oil / canvas, 30 × 36”, $200-300,000 3. N. C. Wyeth (1882–1945), Farmer with Pumpkin, oil / canvas, 47 × 33.5”, $250-350,000

“Reno is home to the nation’s biggest and most successful auction of Western art.”

– The Wall Street Journal

The 2013 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction will be held July 27 th at the Peppermill Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada.

2013 Auction Catalogs will be mailing at the end of June and are available for $60 by calling our main office at 208-772-9009 or through our website. Visit us online at www.cdaartauction.com THE COEUR D’ALENE ART AUCTION 8836 North Hess St., Suite B Hayden, Id. 83835 tel: 208-772-9009 e: info@cdaartauction.com

Hike the Tetons

•

Fish the Snake

•

Hear the Music

After a day of experiencing all that Jackson Hole has to offer, relax to the sounds of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra— comprised of musicians from the nation’s best symphonies —this world-class festival has been making music in the mountains for more than 50 years. Come as you are and enjoy the casual atmosphere and superior acoustics of Walk Festival Hall nestled at the base of Rendezvous Mountain in Teton Village. grand Teton national Park

“One of the best places in this country to hear classical music in summer lies in the shadow of the Tetons ...” –David Mermelstein, Wall Street Journal

chamber Music concerts

Free Family concerts

Music Director Donald Runnicles, conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, returns each summer from Germany to conduct the Festival Orchestra and showcase internationally acclaimed guest artists such as Alicia Weilerstein, cello; Yefim Bronfman, piano, Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar; James Ehnes, violin and guest conductors Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Matthias Pintscher and Ludovic Morlot plus many more. Visit our website for complete summer programming.

JackSon Hole, wyoMing July 4 – auguST 17, 2013 ConCerts nightly in teton Village 307-733-1128 www.gtMf.org

Spotlight concerts

Rock Solid

The new cutting edge in Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real estate market Locally owned and managed, RE/MAX Obsidian Real Estate, a member of the RE/MAX Global Network, is a boutique real estate brokerage specializing in the local Jackson Hole residential market.

RE/MAX Obsidian Real Estate 110 E. Broadway, Jackson, WY 83001 307.739.1234 â&#x20AC;˘ www.JHObsidian.com

Leaders in the Wildlife and Sporting Art Field Now Accepting Quality Consignments

Carl Rungius sold $373,750

Philip Goodwin sold $161,000

Louis Fuertes sold $86,250*

Carl Rungius sold $460,000

Edmund Osthaus sold $205,000*

Charles Schreyvogel bronze sold $109,250*

Friedrich Kuhnert sold $333,500

Lynn Bogue Hunt sold $126,500*

John J. Audubon sold $41,400

* Denotes world record for the artist

The Sporting Sale 2013 | July 30-31 | Plymouth, Massachusetts info@copleyart.com | copleyart.com | COPLEY

FINE ART AUCTIONS | 617.536.0030 | 268 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116

Excellence in ART since 1963.

YOur PreMier GaLLerY fOr the fineSt in nature anD WiLDLife art.

James Morgan, Sunning Log, 20 x 30, Oil

John Seerey-Lester, Brush with Death, 36 x 24, Oil

Kyle Sims, September Pursuits, 30 x 60, Oil

Dustin Van Wechel, The Passerby, 24 x 36, Oil

Lindsay Scott, Ever Vigilant, 17 x 42, Oil

Bonnie Marris, Frosty Morning, 36 x 48, Oil

Please view additional works at www.trailsidegalleries.com JACKSON HOLE

130 East Broadway, P.O. Box 1149 Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733.3186

SCOTTSDALE

7330 Scottsdale Mall Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 945.7751

trailsidegalleries.com

EMAIL info@trailsidegalleries.com

Trailside Galleries & Gerald PeTers GalleryÂŠ

An Auction of Past and Present Masterworks of the American West

s o m e t h i n g w i l d awa i t s y o u . . .

clockwise from top left: Wilhelm kuhnert (1865-1926), Leopard, oil on board, 18 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches, estimate: $40,000 - $60,000. carl Brenders (1937- ), Esprit de Corps, watercolor and gouache on illustration board, 22 x 40 inches, estimate: $40,000 - $50,000. Guy coheleach (1933- ), Pensive, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches, estimate: $25,000 - $35,000. carl rungius (1869-1959), Misty Moose, gouache on paper, 15 x 22 inches, estimate: $30,000 - $50,000. ken carlson (1937-), Piercing the Silence, oil on board, 24 x 36 inches, estimate: $35,000 - $45,000. maynard dixon (1875-1946), Remuda, oil on canvas, 25 x 30 inches, estimate: $250,000 - $450,000.

accepting consignments for the september 14, 2013 auction For more information please contact jill callahan, auction coordinator, 866-549-9278, coordinator@jacksonholeartauction.com roxanne hofmann, managing Partner, 480-945-7751, roxanne@trailsidegalleries.com maryvonne leshe, Partner, 307-733-3186, maryvonne@trailsidegalleries.com

j ac k s o n h o l e a rT au c T i o n , l . l . c .

P.o. Box 1568 - 130 east Broadway, jackson, Wy 83001 Tel 866-549-9278 | coordinator@jacksonholeartauction.com W W W. j ac k s o n h o l e a rTau c T i o n . c o m

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307.73 9.8132 www .Spack mansI nJH.c o

Visit www.SpackmansInJH.com to learn more about these fine offerings and inside knowledge about Jackson Hole. The Spackmans Your guides to the Jackson Hole Lifestyle.

National Museum of Wildlife Art of the U.S. PO Box 6825, Jackson, WY 83002 WildlifeArt.org • 307-733-5771 Address Service Requested

2013–14 Exhibitions Schedule School Art Spectacular

George Catlin’s American Buffalo Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in collaboration with the NMWA May 10 – August 25, 2013

April 27 – June 2, 2013

Traveling Trout

May 4 – October 6, 2013

National Geographic: Greatest Photographs of the American West

Amazing Animals: John James Audubon to Andy Warhol May 10 – August 18, 2013

May 4 – August 11, 2013

The Odd Couple

Year-round (8 times/year with Mix’d Media events)

Ancient Traditions: The Whetzel Collection of Pueblo and Pre-Pueblo Pottery

The Lost Bird Project

Collectors Circle XV

Western Visions: Miniatures and More Show & Sale

Wonder Cabinet: A Collection of Curiosities

Wild Wonders of Europe

Conservation Gallery

Darwin’s Legacy: The Evolution of Wildlife Art

Elegy: The African Photography of Nick Brandt

June 14 – November 10, 2013

August 17 – September 22, 2013 September 28, 2013 – Jan. 5, 2014

October 12, 2013 – April 27, 2014

October 19, 2013 – April 20, 2014

November 15, 2013 – April 13, 2014 November 16, 2013 – April 13, 2014

January 18 – April 20, 2014

May 18 – October 6, 2013

Show Calendar Theodore Waddell, Dan Namingha & Arlo Namingha June 3 -15 Artists Reception: June 6 Howard Post, Dennis Ziemienski & Logan Maxwell Hagege June 17- 29 Artists Reception: June 20 R. Tom Gilleon, Bill Schenck & Greg Woodard July 1 - 13 Artists Reception: July 5 Jared Sanders & September Vhay July 15 - 27 Artists Reception: July 18 Amy Ringholz & Duke Beardsley July 29 - August 10 Artists Reception: August 1 172 Center Street · PO Box 4859 · Jackson , WY 83001 307.739.4700 · www.altamiraart.com · connect@altamiraart.com