Living Legends
Jackson Hole, WY
The works of 39 esteemed wildlife artists will be on view at the National Museum of Wildlife Art through April 14 in an exhibition titled Living Legends. Many of these artists’ works helped build the foundation for the museum’s extensive collection of highquality wildlife art from its inception in 1984, including Tony Angell, George Carlson, Nancy Glazier and Nancy Howe, according to Tammi Hanawalt, associate curator at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Hanawalt co-curated the event alongside Adam Harris, Joffa Kerr Chief Curator of Art. The Living Legends collection features one piece by each artist that has not been in the public eye for some time—important pieces that, for whatever reason, weren’t often displayed. Hanawalt says she reached out to the artists individually to learn the stories behind their pieces. The artists’ quotes were then displayed next to their work, as well as a black-and-white portrait of the artist.
On the Edge, an oil by Ken Carlson, depicts three white rams on the edge of a rocky mountain. “This painting grew out of one of my first trips to Alaska in the early 1980s. We spent nearly an entire day on a mountain ridge watching a band of Dall rams. At almost nightfall, the evening sun cast salmon-tinted light on the scene. The rich, subtle tones softened the white of the rams and added warmth to the shale slide backdrop and overall mood,” he says.
Other works in the exhibition include a painting of a bison with its calf by Douglas Allen, as well as a bronze trout sculpture by Steve Kestrel. Robert Bateman’s oil Stretching Canada Goose, painted in 1983, displays tremendous detail in the plumage of this
waterfowl, which sits in the foreground, splattering droplets of water across the entire composition as it stretches sumptuously.
“Each artist, of course, has their own way of portraying wildlife from our area and the rest of the world,” says Hanawalt. She explains that the museum started collecting from artists in North America portraying North American beasts, then expanded to international artists depicting animals from across the world. Anyone who has an interest in wildlife art, she says, brings to the table questions about conservation and questions about how wildlife artists have been portrayed in the last several decades. “This is key to keeping open the conversation of the importance of wildlife art,” Hanawalt explains.
Part two of the Living Legends exhibition will be on view in fall 2019.