Bob Kuhn: Drawing on Instinct will be on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art from March 15 through July 6, 2014. At once precise and dramatic, Kuhn’s work reveals an artist working at the intersection of natural history painting tradition and contemporary artistic movements such as color-field theory.
Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Robert Kuhn (1920-2007) began his lifelong fascination with wild animals while sketching at the Buffalo Zoo. He went on to study design, anatomy and life drawing at the Pratt Institute in New York City. His detailed paintings of animals in landscape made him one of the most popular wildlife illustrators in America. Over his thirty-year career, he became recognized for his ability to capture the particular gestures and personalities of his subjects. Kuhn’s work spans both North American and African subject matter. This exhibition also includes his drawings, which were integral to his art and the building blocks for his paintings.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will offer numerous programs including lectures, workshops, Family Flicks, First Sundays for Families on May 4, and in collaboration with the San Antonio Zoo: a free Gallery Talk with Zoo Educators on Tuesday, May 20 at 6 p.m. and Sketching Live Animals at the San Antonio Zoo, Saturday, May 24.
Bob Kuhn: Drawing on Instinct is organized by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and curated by its Curator of Art, Adam Duncan Harris. In San Antonio, the exhibition includes works on loan from local collectors. This exhibition is generously presented by Karen and Tim Hixon. Kuhn’s work will be on display in the Small Special Exhibitions Gallery.
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The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of the San Antonio Riverwalk. The collection contains more than 25,000 works representing 5,000 years of history and cultures from around the world.
Image Credit
Robert Kuhn (United States, 1920–2007)
Jaguar and Cattle Egrets, 1980
Acrylic on Board
18 x 40 inches
JKM Collection® National Museum of Wildlife Art
Robert Kuhn (United States, 1920–2007)
Silent as the Snow, 1979
Acrylic on Board,
24 inches x 36 inches
JKM Collection® National Museum of Wildlife Art
