National Museum of Wildlife Art: Gillie and Marc
In the summer of 2018, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, held its annual Collectors Circle event, which asks Collectors Circle members to vote on artworks to add to the museum’s permanent collection. The artworks are first vetted by museum curators and usually represent a range of styles, mediums and artists.
Works acquired following the 2018 Collectors Circle include Lion, a charcoal work on paper by Nicola Hicks; American Elk (Wyoming) and Yellowstone Composition #2 by James Prosek; and Time Traveler by Clyde Aspevig. Another new acquisition is Gillie and Marc’s 79-inchtall bronze The Last Three, which depicts the last three northern white rhinos in existence. Since the debut of the work in 2018, one of the rhinos, Sudan, the last male, has passed away leaving only two remaining for the entire species. Sudan is shown as the bottom rhino, underneath his daughter Najiin and granddaughter Fatu.
The artists, Australian collaborative artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, who married after meeting on a film set, created The Last Three to raise awareness of poaching. It was inspired after a trip to Kenya. A 22-foot tall version of the sculpture is now on public display in Astor Place near the East Village in New York City.
In addition to the acquired artworks, the Collectors Circle members also fully funded the conservation of Henry Merwin Shrady’s bronze Bull Moose.
Since 1998, the Collectors Circle has helped the museum acquire more than 100 works of art. This year’s acquisitions are now on view at the Wyoming museum.
Calling all Western Art museums! Have a recently acquired painting or sculpture? Email the details to editor@westernartcollector.com.