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American Wildlife Art
http://www.wildlifeartjournal.com/
Premiere Issue, Summer 2009
Author David Wagner Makes Case For Why Wildlife Art Matters
Written By Wildlife Art Journal Staff, Todd Wilkinson
Constantin Brancusi, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Georgia O'Keefe, Winslow Homer, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Maynard Dixon, Frank Benson, Jamie Wyeth, Picasso, Landseer, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo: They are among a long list of individuals whose credentials were never checked by St. Peter while passing through the vaunted gates of art history.
Each one painted or sculpted animals.
David J. Wagner's new 424-page, coffee-table sized book American Wildlife Art is unprecedented in its scholarship, certainly in the way it explores the history of wildlife art on the North American continent.
In this whale of a book, Wagner presents the strongest case yet for why animal imagery commands not only contemporary relevance for our time, but as fine art, scientific documentation, popular decoration for the masses, and yes, as icons, corporate logos, sports team mascots, and political expressions, it is the genre that perhaps most transcends social classes, national identity, age, religion and province.
Wagner is in a position to make a commentary. For a decade between 1977 and 1987, he served as director of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin where he helped establish the museum's Bird In Art Exhibition as an international event. Moreover, today he serves as a consultant for a number of traveling exhibitions, including a multi-venue event for Robert Bateman.
For a long time, the (primarily) Eastern art establishment in the U.S. has dismissed wildlife art and its practitioners as crude, undeveloped, and prosaic—unworthy of comparison to other art movements and the masters who spawned them. Critics demean wildlife art as little more than superficial documentation, though an exception is always unexplainably granted if a master from another genre, say, chooses to insert an animal image into a scene or motif as allegory.
Wagner answers the casters of aspersions and the defenders of minimalism and demonstration art with evidence of wildlife art's validity. Ironically, given the title of the book, he sets out to erase the artificial boundaries between wildlife art and fine art. As a foil, he invokes the story of Carl Rungius. The German-born painter who spent his most productive years in Canada's Banff National Park also explored Wyoming's Wind River Mountains early in his career and won acclaim as a landscape painter. Around the turn of the 20th century, Rungius, who today is recognized as one of the finest painters of North American big game animals scenes, came under criticism for putting portraits of wildlife, which he sometimes hunted and killed, between the frame. Some claimed he was less of a painter as a result.
Rungius responded by deliberately painting a series of pure landscapes that were hailed for their technical virtuosity and won him academician status with the vaunted National Academy of Design. The triumph proved that it is not subject matter that makes the painter, but the painter who chooses to apply his skill to whatever line of visual reference point he or she sees fit.
"The thesis of American Wildlife Art is that American wildlife art evolved not merely out of aesthetic advances, as many would simplistically believe, but out of four centuries of aesthetic, ideological, and entrepreneurial appropriation, and that the forces at play were symbiotically shaped and fulfilled, "Wagner explains. "My purpose in writing this book has been to account for the evolution of the genre, and in doing so correct misconceptions that might exist."
It's an academic way of saying wildlife art deserves a place at the table of discussion about American art history and its reflection of Western culture and society. For us in the 21st century, wildlife art does not assume a fleeting presence; it is a modern totem.
Avec ce livre, vous embarquez sur un navire qui vous conduira à la découverte du nouveau monde et de son histoire à travers l’évolution d’un art ancestral et séculaire: l’art animalier. Vous marcherez sur les traces des premiers découvreurs et des premiers artistes naturalistes qui avec une recherche et une patience infinies retranscrivaient au travers de leur art leurs émotions et leurs ressentis vis-à-vis de nouvelles espèces animales et botaniques jusqu’alors complètement inconnues.Au 18 et 19ème siècle, l’histoire des artistes animaliers (Alexander Wilson ou encore John James Audubon) se conjugue avec celle des Etats-Unis. D’énormes changements rythment la vie des hommes de cette Nation naissante.
John James Audubon, part son travail absolument remarquable de finesse et de réalisme, est considéré comme un des premiers ornithologues du Nouveau Monde. Il peint des centaines de planches où souvent les oiseaux sont représentés dans leur milieu naturel. Cette manière de faire contraste avec celle de ses contemporains. Avec lui, une nouvelle page de l’histoire de l’art animalier américain fait son apparition.
Au 19ème siècle, l’art animalier dépeint le plus fréquemment des scènes de chasse. Le Continent est vaste, les zones sauvages où le gibier prolifère nombreuses. Les scènes de chasse qui illustrent ce livre sont d’un réalisme fascinant. Arthur F. Tait fut un des artistes qui contribua à la démocratisation de l’art animalier. Avec la révolution industrielle, l’art animalier allait prendre un nouveau tournant.
A la fin du 19ème siècle, Edward Kemeys, sculpteur de grand talent, montre pour la première fois des animaux dans un style différent ; la sculpture doit avant tout capturer l’esprit même de l’animal pour sublimer l’impression de mouvement ou appuyer une attitude. Beaucoup d’autres artistes s’engouffreront dans cette voie.
Au 20ème siècle, les artistes animaliers continueront à faire évoluer le travail artistique dans ce sens. Malgré la grande dépression, les problèmes économiques, ou les guerres, nombreux seront les artistes de grand talent qui feront de leur passion et de leur art une profession.
Certains iront encore plus loin. Robert Bateman, figure emblématique de l’art animalier, s’engagera dans la préservation des espaces sauvages, des espèces en danger et sera, avec le photo réalisme, un des pionniers dans la manière de peindre et d’appréhender cet art,. Avec lui, le voyage se termine et nous ramène au port car c’est lui qui justement a écrit l’introduction de ce merveilleux livre.
Découvertes, histoires, illustrations. David J. Wagner maîtrise avec brio son sujet. Ce livre est un véritable régal pour les yeux et l’esprit et m’a apporté de la fierté à d’exercer ce métier d’artiste animalier hyperréaliste.
Laurence Saunois
Jammary, Figeac
FRANCE
From cave dwellers' murals to Winslow Homer watercolors, representations of flora and fauna comprise the oldest, most enduring form of visual art. Yet today, they are too often dismissed as the sentimental stuff of calendars and greeting cards rather than being valued as worthy of serious study.
Scholar and curator David J. Wagner hopes to restore credibility to such images. He makes a strong case for their renewed appreciation through a new book and a touring exhibition, now on view at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
"American Wildlife Art," published in February by Seattle-based Marquand Books, surveys naturalistic art from Colonial-era book illustrations to present-day public sculptures. In this comprehensive, well-illustrated tome, Mr. Wagner reaches beyond the usual talents to expose the richness of the genre.
As he makes clear, documenting the nation's wildlife started well before John James Audubon's seminal work, "Birds of America" (1826-39). In the late 1500s, English explorer John White painted watercolors of the crabs, pelicans and turtles discovered during expeditions on the southeastern coast.
Another Englishman, Mark Catesby, made the next significant contribution in the 1730s with the first color-plate reference book on the species of the New World, titled "The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands."
During the 1800s, prints and drawings of native birds by Audubon were followed by more expressive likenesses of predatory beasts. Edward Kenneys, the first wildlife artist born in this country, sculpted lions, panthers and bears for public buildings and parks in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
By the 20th century, wildlife art coincided with a growing interest in outdoor recreation and sports. One of the major talents of the era was German-born Carl Rungius, who based his dramatic, loosely brushed paintings of moose, elk and bighorn sheep on sightings during hunting trips to the West.
Much of this art was part of an effort to record the unfamiliar creatures of a continent still being settled. Today, the Animal Planet television channel and popular documentary films such as "March of the Penguins" have taken the place of paintings and sculptures in revealing the wonders of the natural world. Traditional wildlife art has lost much of its didactic purpose to become merely illustrative.
Not entirely so, however, as shown by the drawings, paintings, prints, photos and sculptures of rare species now on view at the Roosevelt-era Interior Museum. The exhibit, organized by the Wildling Art Museum in Los Olivos, Calif., puts a face on native animals and plants threatened by extinction.
The images in "Endangered Species: Flora & Fauna in Peril" depict the beauty of well-publicized creatures in peril, like the northern spotted owl and bald eagle, as well as more obscure plants and animals. They portray about 47 species listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, making an effective case for their preservation through colorful, detailed portrayals.
Mr. Wagner served as consulting curator and tour director of the traveling show of 50 artworks, which veer from delicate botanical drawings to kitschy animal sculptures. The images are arrayed in the 1938 galleries below lighting coves decorated with zinc silhouettes of scenery illustrating the Interior Department's mission (the museum is worth a visit on its own).
One of the more interesting aspects of the show is the inclusion of statements from the 40 artists, explaining the challenges of finding live examples of threatened species to sketch. At the suggestion of a botanist at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, artist Lotus McElfish scoured the banks of the San Marcos River to discover some of the last remaining wild rice growing in a fish hatchery. Miami-based Oscar Famili sketched his image of a Florida scrub jay, a bird once common to the Everglades, at a rescue center. Californian Chris Chapman couldn't locate a jewelflower in its native habitat so he copied its delicate leaves and flowers from plants in a botanical garden.
Much of this wildlife art fails to advance the genre in stylistic terms, but several pieces are leavened with humorous touches to poke fun at tree-hugging earnestness. "Lunch Counter" pictures a grizzly bear sitting with his paw atop a rock as if ordering his next meal. "American Burying Beetle ... Going" shows a line of insects emerging from a sheet of paper soiled by coffee cup rings and Oreo cookie crumbs.
References to the wildlife art traditions outlined in Mr. Wagner's book are evident in other works. Colorado artist Shane Dimmick borrows the fool-the-eye style of 19th-century artist William Hartnett to create the illusion of a drawing of a gray wolf taped to rustic wood paneling. Next to the animal sketch is an image of a geyser in Yellowstone National Park where the wolves were reintroduced in 1995 after decades of extinction.
From tiny snails disappearing from Hawaii's volcanic ridges to Texan ocelots now confined to wildlife preserves, the small and big creatures depicted in the exhibit serve as reminders of nature's precariousness in an artificial world. They underscore the increasing draw of wildlife art as environmentalism moves from the fringes into the mainstream.
In his introduction to Mr. Wagner's book, Canadian-born wildlife artist Robert Bateman summarizes the continuing appeal of the wild kingdom: "As nature becomes more threatened and more precious, the longing for images of it will increase."
Let's hope the quality of wildlife artworks does, too.
WEB SITE: www.doi.gov/interiormuseum
Deborah K. Dietsch
Washington Times
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Click here to download an article of Todd Wilkinson's Review of American Wildlife Art
". . . Thanks for [personalizing the copy of] American Wildlife Art I purchased . . . Believe it or not, I have now read it.. every page.. well, at least ALMOST every page. I must say that it’s a wonderful representation of wildlife art and history. I’m not an art history major or art history buff, but I can appreciate the herculean effort it took to produce the book. Your book is a great read with lots of terrific facts, stories, and details of the different schools and styles that developed over the years. The writing style and integration of the figures made for a well-done flow without being too wordy. . . ."
David J. Gautereaux
Thomas D. Mangelsen, Inc.
Congratulations on all the great press for your book! I'm not all the way through it yet (SO hard to find the time to read anymore) but I'm enjoying the heck out of it. It's rare to find works of non fiction told with both the non- threatening, compelling lucidity of an armchair storytelling and the rigorous, scholarly detail of a historical discourse, but you've done it with American Wildlife Art.
Andrew Denman
Artist
[AMERICAN WILDLIFE ART] "is more than just magnificent; it is essential. This writer predicts that a century from now when scholars want to educate themselves about wildlife art, this will be the work they will consult. It's that good and that comprehensive. "American Wildlife Art" is an example of first-rate scholarship marked by even-handed prose, breathtaking illustrations and an accessibility that is to be celebrated. Simply put, 'American Wildlife Art' is a joy."
November 26, 2008
LARRY COX
Tucson Citizen
Click here to read Wildlife Art Expert speaks Saturday at Desert Museum, by Larry Cox of the Tucson Citizen, November 26, 2008
Click here to read an interview with David Wagner by Valerie Vinyard of the Arizona Daily Star, November 21, 2008
"Collectors, conservationists, artists and anyone interested in wildlife art will be enthralled by a new retrospective from a leading curator and lecturer. Authored by David J Wagner and published by Marquand Books, "American Wildlife Art" is the culmination of years of research bundled into one gorgeous, definitive reference...It's a thorough, engrossing study that should find a home on many a coffee table, appealing to art aficionados, animal lovers, and anyone in between."
Jeanne Kolker,Wisconsin State Journal
view entire article (pdf format)
"Although many works chronicle the development of natural history illustration and wildlife art, few provide such a concise, thorough, and scholarly examination of the topic. As one would expect, this work by independent scholar Wagner is handsomely illustrated with carefully selected examples of the evolution of American wildlife art in paintings, prints, and sculpture. Since the 19th century, wildlife art had been ubiquitous in the US, appearing as illustrations in books, magazines, calendars, and other forms of print media. These images and representations of wildlife have helped shape the American perception of the variety and abundance of the nation's natural world. Often disdained by art critics and the national arbiters of fine art, wildlife art has always been popular with the American people. Although this volume is chronological in its organization, the author provides both additional contextual information and particularly salient information concerning the methods of reproduction of wildlife art and the significance of its mass distribution. Especially useful for students are the meticulous delineations of influences upon each artist, as appropriate, and the detailed notes that appear at the end of each section."
P.D. Thomas, Wichita State University
Choice Magazine, September 2008
Click here to listen to David Wagner and Robert Bateman speak on KPBS radio, 89.5 FM San Diego with Alison St. John.
Read a short summary here, titled, "Wildlife Artist Discusses His Passion For Natural World".
Click here for the scanned PDF article from "Wildlife Artists Interpret Environment, History", as published in The Resorter Reporter, August 2008Page 1 Page 2
"Many critics and curators have dismissed wildlife as a subject beneath serious consideration. David J. Wagner hopes to change that perception with American Wildlife Art, published earlier this year by Marquand Books. A massive volume beautifully illustrated with more than 300 pictures, most of them in color, American Wildlife Art offers an erudite survey of the development of the genre in North America from the 1580s through the present day. . . . Wagner has dedicated his professional career to rehabilitating the reputation of his favorite genre."
Mary Manion
Wildlife Art: Finally Getting Respect
Antique Trader
Click here to listen to an interview of Author, Dr. David J. Wagner and Wildlife Sculptor, Kent Ullberg, by Larry Meiller of Wisconsin Public Radio about Ullberg's sculpture as featured in AMERICAN WILDLIFE ART. (11/12/2008 @39 minutes → Real Player required: www.real.com- free download/ available online in two formats - RealAudio and MP3 )
Click here to listen an interview of Author, Dr. David J. Wagner, by Larry Meiller of Wisconsin Public Radio about his book. (8/28/2008 @39 minutes → Real Player required: www.real.com - free download/ available online in two formats - RealAudio and MP3 )
"The moment I gazed on the book and opened its pages, the word that immediately came to mind was ‘sumptuous’…this is a definitive history of the evolution of endeavors by American wildlife artists. From pioneers such as Mark Catesby to the most prominent animal artists of the 21st century, Wagner covers the wildlife scene with literary grace, careful research and the insight provided by a lifetime spent studying the subject."
Jim Casada
Sporting Classics
"In his illuminating book American Wildlife Art, David J. Wagner argues that the painting of wildlife developed in a far different manner in North America than in Europe. England, he points out, had a tradition of 'sporting art,' including images of the hunt, or paintings that focus on 'species often targeted as game by sportsmen.' Another tradition of animal painting was the scientific: the attempt to catalog species visually."
Edward Rothstein
The New York Times (view entire article)
"This book is important for wildlife art today. It covers everything you need to know about the genre. Anyone who is interested or involved in wildlife art, whether an artist, collector, conservationist, dealer, student, or teacher, will be inspired and educated."
Paul Montag
Wildlife Art Magazine
"I knew it [American Wildlife Art] would be good but this is beyond my expectations! It is incredibly well researched and very informative. This volume will stand as the definitive work on the subject for years to come, perhaps forever ... David Wagner is the number one intellectual in wildlife art certainly in America, maybe in the world."
Robert Bateman, Painter
www.robertbateman.ca
"David Wagner is a distinguished curator and art historian whose scholarly and informed contributions to the field of art, particularly wildlife art, have set standards for excellence, innovation, and thoroughness."
J. Brooks Joyner
Director, Joslyn Art Museum
"Perhaps the book’s greatest contribution is that it gathers in one place over 300 illustrations of some of the most important wildlife art ever produced by North American artists. This collection of paintings, drawings and sculpture provides us with a comprehensive account of the origins of our wildlife art, as well as an historical record of its evolution to its present form."
Dan Small
Host/Producer of Outdoor Wisconsin
Read entire review
"Wildlife art could not have a more eloquent or knowledgeable spokesperson than David Wagner, and I’m sure that all artists working with wildlife today feel the same gratitude that I do for his dedication of so much of his life and talent to our field."
Kent Ullberg, Sculptor
www.kentullberg.net
"David Wagner offers a holistic look at the American history of wildlife art and guides us toward a renewed purpose for this unique art form. He provides the historical insight of the past and presents a satisfying exploration of the dynamic artists who continue this highly regarded tradition of documentation through art. Read it and enjoy a fascinating perspective on how wildlife art is changing the way we see the world around us."
Susan T. Fisher
Director, Art Institute
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
"David Wagner’s prodigious research ability has produced what will undoubtedly prove to be the definitive work on the history of American wildlife art. While others have written on particular facets of the subject, Wagner ties all the strands of the story together and presents it to the reader in a beautifully written illustrated synthesis."
John F. Reiger
Author of American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation
Professor, Ohio University—Chillicothe
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