AUCTION 2018,

LOT 251

Bob Kuhn

1920-2007

Seal Hunter

MEDIUM: Acrylic

DIMENSIONS: 24 x 36 inches

Signed lower right

Signed and dated 2003 verso

SOLD FOR: $ 152,100

Including Buyers Premium

Additional Information

Like many artists in his generation, Bob Kuhn started out as an illustrator, contributing renderings of animals to books and periodicals. In 1970, he turned his attention exclusively to easel painting and eventually inherited the mantle worn by Wilhelm Kuhnert and Carl Rungius as the finest interpreter of big game animals. Kuhn balanced a desire to capture his subjects accurately with a flair for design that transmits the essential cycle of action and stillness in the natural world. In Seal Hunter, a polar bear sniffs the wind, a puff of steam moistening his nose. Bold stripes in the ice alternate from the lower edge of the canvas, which may well be the beginning of open water. The broken reflection of the bear shimmers. Kuhn balances the bear with the tipped-up ice shelf; they rival one another for solidity. But what is perhaps most arresting is the low band of cloud–pink and purple–in the otherwise unbroken blue sky. It creates an above and below, an earthly, watery world and a celestial realm with a sort of vaporous boundary. Makes you think the Arctic must be a wondrous, otherworldly place.

CONTACT US

Email: info@scottsdaleartauction.com
Phone: (480) 945-0225

DISCLAIMER

Please note that the first unframed photo is most accurate for color. Framed photographs are to show the frame and are not color corrected to the painting.

*The Condition Reports are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Scottsdale Art Auction. Scottsdale Art Auction strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. All lots offered are sold “AS IS”. Please refer to item two in our terms and conditions for further information.