American Wildlife Art

Bookshelves abound with accounts of wildlife artists and their artistry, but no book is truly comparable to American Wildlife Art. In American Wildlife Art, scholar and curator David J. Wagner tells the story of this popular genre's history, shaped by four centuries of cultural events and aesthetic and ideological trends, from its beginnings in colonial times to the monumental works of the present day. In his insightful accounts of the artists, events, and trends at the heart of this uniquely American art form, Wagner explains how the aesthetic idioms and imagery of American wildlife art have evolved, how its ecological ideologies have changed with changing circumstances and ideas about animals and their habitats, and how artists and entrepreneurs developed and influenced the market for wildlife art.

Wagner's history begins with the works of John White and Mark Catesby, artists who documented the flora and fauna of the New World and presented Europeans with a view of both the economic potential and the natural wonders of the then sparsely settled continent. After the American Revolution, as the new nation grew, artists such as Alexander Wilson and especially John James Audubon caused the course of American wildlife art history to turn and advance, setting the stage for Arthur Tait's collaboration with Currier & Ives, which brought wildlife art to the masses, and the work of Edward Kemeys, whose impressionistic sculpture captured the essence of disappearing wildlife like the wolf and buffalo at the same time that prominent Americans like John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt promoted wilderness preservation and the ethics of sportsmanship. As Wagner's narrative moves to the twentieth century and beyond, it embraces in revealing detail the lives of artists Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Carl Rungius, painters who were among the most influential wildlife artists of their time. Wagner's account concludes with portraits of recent and contemporary wildlife artists such as Robert Bateman, Bob Kuhn, Roger Tory Peterson, Stanley Meltzoff, and Kent Ullberg-artists whose work at once departs from and embodies the legacies, traditions, and innovations that informed and preceded it.

Through a rich array of illustrations and its incisive text, American Wildlife Art will appeal to collectors, conservationists, and artists-to everyone who already enjoys wildlife art or who is learning about it for the first time. Wagner's authoritative and even-handed prose brings this compelling art form to life, reminding us of the treasures found on America's wild lands.

American Wildlife Art by David J. Wagner
CLICK HERE ON LINK: http://american-wildlife-art.com
Published by Marquand Books
Hardcover with jacket
424 pages
280 color and 30 black-and-white illustrations

- Read "Wild about animals Historian tracks artists' works and influences" By Jim Higgins of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Read "ART: Images of endangered species extend artistic tradition" By Deborah K. Dietsch published in the Washington Times, LLC.
- View a slide show of illustrations in the book narrated by Jim Higgins
- Hear an interview of Dr. Wagner by Larry Meiller of Wisconsin Public Radio. (8/28/2008 @39 minutes) (Real Player required: www.real.com - free download)
- Read the press release for American Wildlife Art (PDF 85kb)
- Read an article on ExpressMilwaukee.com
- Read an article on American Wildlife Art in Antique Trader Magazine
- Read an article on American Wildlife Art in Western & Wildlife Art Magazine
- Read an article on American Wildlife Art in Wildlife Art Journal

Here is what some SAA members are saying about AMERICAN WILDLIFE ART:

"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

"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 J. Wagner, PhD is the preeminent academic authority on the subject of Wildlife Art in America. Early in his career, he served as director of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, where he established Birds In Art as the world's most prestigious annual exhibition of animal art. He also served as executive director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and was a museum-studies adjunct faculty member at the Graduate School of New York University, Colorado College, and University of Wisconsin Extension. Today he combines working as a freelance consultant with duties as Tour Director for the Society of Animal Artists, and curator of numerous traveling shows, including current One-man Shows for Robert Bateman, Kent Ullberg and yours truly. (He also wrote the introduction for my book: www.rigorvitae.net). Dave's PhD dissertation was on the history of wildlife art in America, and he continues to lecture widely on the subject. He's been working on his Magnum Opus for several years, and the project is finally complete. American Wildlife Art will be released early in the new year by Marquand Books. At 424 pages, with over 300 illustrations, it promises to be the most complete history of representative animal art in North America to date."
Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen http://rigorvitae.blogspot.com