Some people have dismissed wildlife art as sentimental kitsch fit only for hotel lobbies or illustrating bird-watcher's handbooks. David J. Wagner might just change that perception with American Wildlife Art, a magisterial volume lavishly illustrated with more than 300 pictures, most in color. His text eruditely surveys the visual representation of North American fauna from the 16th century through the present.
A director for many years of Wausau's Woodson Art Museum, Wagner has devoted much of his professional life to human depictions of the natural world. "I've always been sensitive to the idea that wildlife art has been marginalized in the art world," he says. "But shortly after I started at the Woodson-30 years ago-I took the exhibition 'Birds in Art' to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the highest altar in the pantheon of American culture. And just the other day I saw the Audubon exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the highest altar in the pantheon of local culture. One of the iconic images of Chicago is the two lions gracing the doorsteps of the venerable Art Institute. I'd say wildlife has enjoyed a fair representation at the highest levels."
American Wildlife Art began as Wagner's Ph.D. dissertation in American studies for the University of Minnesota. The work commences with pictures of the New World's unknown birds and mammals executed by British illustrators to catalog the bounty of the colonies. In the 19th century John James Audubon brought avian life in the new republic to a pinnacle of artistry with Birds of America, a portfolio of 435 life-size images of birds situated in their natural environments. Although Audubon sold his work to an elite audience, Wagner's book reminds us that most wildlife art circulated in the form of prints, bookplates or other multiple images and was intended for the enjoyment and education of a wide public.
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The popularity of wildlife art only increased as Americans moved from farms and small towns to cities isolated from nature. According to Wagner, wildlife artists from the 1870s onward were often champions of conservation, as their work illustrated articles and editorials "educating the public and particularly sportsmen that some species were in danger through over-hunting and habitat destruction." As for nowadays, Wagner cites Robert Bateman as an artist "who risks challenging commercial forestry in the Pacific Northwest by painting the spotted owl" and commercial fishing by depicting the destruction of sea creatures through careless netting.
David Wagner will sign copies of American Wildlife Art from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at Landmarks Gallery, 231 N. 76th St. Also present will be Wisconsin wildlife artists Martin R. Murk and Les Didier.
