John Seerey-Lester - Member Profile

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile

John Seerey-Lester

Signature Member

Oil and Acrylic Painter, USA

World-renowned artist John Seerey-Lester was born in Manchester, England, where he grew up with a sketchbook in hand. Receiving his first commission at the early age of 13, John became a professional artist in 1974. For some ten years prior to this, John was a journalist, freelance writer, editor of several magazines and worked in advertising and public relations in both the private sector and local government in the UK. Before painting wildlife, John painted figurative works and portraiture, which he still undertakes. On his travels to different parts of the world, he continues to do figurative work between his wildlife paintings.

John has received many awards and much recognition for his outstanding achievements in the field of wildlife art. He was presented to His Royal Highness Prince Phillip and was commended for his work in conservation. He has been chosen to exhibit works in the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum's "Birds in Art" and "Wildlife: An Artist's View" shows each year since 1983, and his paintings are in their permanent collection. He has also displayed in several other museums such as the Gilcrease Museum , the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and in many other permanent collections such as Bennington Center for the Arts and Nature in Art Museum. He is a member of Oil Painters of America and is the Artist of the Year at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston for 2004.

Recently John has become well recognized for his paintings depicting historical hunting scenes. A book entitled LEGENDS OF THE HUNT feature this series of paintings.

Robert Glenn - Member Profile

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile

Robert Glenn

Signature Member

Bronze Sculpture, Tanzania

Robert Glenn was born in Kenya in 1940 and his interest in art and natural history formed at an early age. A fascination with birds and all living things led him to the Nairobi Museum of Natural History. It was at the museum where he met the curator of ornithology, John Williams and quickly established a long and enduring friendship that greatly influenced his life’s work.

At the age of 14, Glen was invited to serve as an expedition assistant to Mr. Williams, collecting research specimens of birds for European museums. Two years later, he was accepted to serve a three-year apprenticeship in the renowned taxidermy studio of Coloman Jonas in Denver, Colorado. It was here that his interest in sculpture and design took hold. Returning home, Robert began a transition from taxidermy to sculpting animals in the European tradition of Animaliers, working in various media before casting his first bronze in 1970.

Rob's work has met with great success worldwide and is represented in many private collections, including her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His Highness the Aga Khan and the late Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta. He has had many solo exhibits all over the world.

Glen’s public commissions include one of Texas’ proudest monuments and one of the largest equestrian sculptures in the world, the Mustangs of Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.

Today, Rob continues to work out of his simple camp studio, where he has lived for the past fifteen years with his partner, the accomplished painter Sue Stolberger. Together Sue and Robert inspire each other's work as well as their passion for natural history, ecology and conservation.

Our highest award!

Award of Excellence

The Society of Animal Artists highest award!

The highest honor presented by the Society of Animal Artists, it is awarded to those pieces judged to represent the highest standards of artistic excellence.

The jurors for the Awards of Excellence are chosen by the venue which is hosting the the exhibition. Their proposed list is submitted to the SAA board for approval.

Therefore, while the selection of the work that will be in the show is done "in house" by SAA members who are asked to serve by the Jury Committee, the awards are given by a different set of non-member jurors every year and include museum directors and curators, gallery owners and other qualified individuals.

The judges are asked to select a minimum of six (6) recipients for this award - and no more than ten (10).
Work is to be selected on the following criteria: A. Creativity B. Design and Composition C. Demonstrated Mastery of Medium. Subject matter should NOT be a factor in determining the excellence of the ART.

The Awards are given as medallions with the artist's name and date engraved on the back.

Call to Artists! America's Parks

Call to Artists!

AMERICA'S PARKS Through The Beauty of Art 

Entries Must Be Postmarked by October 15

AMERICA'S PARKS Through the Beauty of Art is an exhibition competition open to all artists, the purpose of which is to recognize and promote excellence in original artworks depicting any North American park (national, state, provincial, county, city) in Canada, Mexico and The United States. Selections will be made by a professional jury consisting of: M. Stephen Doherty, Editor, PleinAir™ Magazine; Susan T. Fisher, American Society of Botanical Artists Past President and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute Director; and Todd Wilkinson, Managing Editor, Wildlife Art Journal.

The 2013 inaugural exhibition of AMERICA'S PARKS Through the Beauty of Art is scheduled as the first of three, with others to follow in 2014 and 2015. The 2013 inaugural exhibition will premiere in Bolivar, Missouri from March 17 - April 14, 2013 at The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art. The Dunnegan is a noteworthy museum that has hosted such notable traveling museum exhibitions as Art and the Animal of The Society of Animal Artists, Blossom ~ Art of Flowers sponsored by The Susan K. Black Foundation, Exquisite Miniatures by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist, and Paws and Reflect: Art of Canines, all of which have toured under the auspices of David J. Wagner, L.L.C. The Dunnegan has also had a tradition of hosting park art exhibits, notably, ARTS FOR THE PARKS. Coincidentally, David J. Wagner proposed the very first tour of the ARTS FOR THE PARKS exhibition, served as a Juror for that exhibit, managed the ARTS FOR THE PARKS tour for its first five years (1988-93), and served on the Advisory Board of its parent organization, the National Park Art Academy. AMERICA'S PARKS Through the Beauty of Art is an entirely new initiative, produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C.

Original artworks depicting subject matter found in any national, state, provincial, county, or city park, or any park of any other such unit in Canada, Mexico, and The United States is eligible. Original, two-dimensional art completed in 2010, '11, or '12 is eligible. Eligible media includes: oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, mixed media, pastel, pencil, pen and ink, tempera, batik, alkyd, scratchboard, and original prints (e.g., lithograph, etching, engraving, serigraph). Ineligible media includes: any media not listed above such as computer enhanced or generated artwork, photography, reproduction prints, sculpture, video. Not including frame or mat, the maximum size for entered artworks is 900 square inches. Calculate by multiplying the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Example: A 30" x 30" painting would equal 900 square inches. Entries must be postmarked by October 15, 2012.

Awards include: America's Parks Curator's Choice Award, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Juror's Choice Award, PleinAir™ Magazine Juror's Choice Award, Society of Animal Artist's Wildlife Art Award, Susan Kathleen Black Foundation Floral Art Award, Wildlife Art Journal Juror's Choice Award.

For a Prospectus (Entry Form) email: americasparksartexhibit@yahoo.com

Visit: http://davidjwagnerllc.com/competitions.html 

Or by clicking here.

Book Signing at the Art and the Animal reception

American Wildlife Art

Book signing!

Friday, October 5, 2012

The Society of Animal Artists

52nd Annual Exhibition Artists’ Reception

The Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum

Oradell, NJ

David J. Wagner, Ph.D., will autograph copies of his book, AMERICAN WILDLIFE ART,  at the Friday, October 5 Reception for the 52nd Annual Exhibition of The Society of Animal Artists at The Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum.   Proceeds will benefit The Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum thanks to a generous donation by The Susan Kathleen Black Foundation.

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 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 Ray Harm, 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.

David J. Wagner...
David Wagner joined the Society of Animal Artists as Tour Director in 1987. He served as Director of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum from 1977 to 1987.  David has also served as Curator of the Society of Animal Artists sculpture courtyard at National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. from 2002 - 2007.  He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and wrote his award-winning, two-volume dissertation on wildlife art prints.