"As an atist Robert Bateman, is able to convey a vivid comprehension of diversity because, as a naturalist, he has mastered the particularity of namture."
Stanwyn G. Shelter
Smithsonian Institution Press
"Nature is a matter of focus and scale...On every scale - structure and pattern. On every level - scientific intrigue and artistic beauty."
This major retrospective of wildlife paintings by the noted Canadian realist features 110 paintings—three of which premiere with this exhibition and many on view for the first time in the U.S. The exhibition includes Bateman's portraits of great monarchs of the world's animal kingdom—Arctic polar bears; East African cheetahs, rhinos, and elephants; and the Central Asian snow leopard. Themes include the artist's concerns for biological diversity and environmental issues.
Also on view is Northern Reflection—Loon Family, the painting presented as Canada's official wedding gift to Prince Charles of Wales.
"Bateman's Mature paintings embody rich fragments of the ecosystem, and the viewer finds a double reward in asthetic composition and acute obervation of the natural world."
