Al Agnew | |
---|---|
Born | Al Agnew 1952 (age 69–70) |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Painting |
Movement | Realism |
Spouse | Mary Agnew |
Al Agnew (born 1952) is an American naturalist painter known for his work capturing wildlife and scenery in realistic detail. "To view an Al Agnew original is to be given the gift of a moment suspended in time". [1]
He and his wife Mary split their time between rural Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri and a log home in Paradise Valley, Montana. Al credits his wife with encouraging him to enter the 1983 Missouri Trout stamp competition. After winning the competition, Al left the teaching profession to devote himself to a professional career as a wildlife artist, with Mary acting as his business manager. [1]
Noted for the realism and detail he brings to his subjects, Agnew's paintings of North American predators, particularly wolves, first caught the eyes of collectors and galleries. [2] Al Agnew's art has been on the covers of more than 125 Bass Pro Shop catalogues, and his art has appeared on several wildlife magazine covers including Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Sporting Classics, and Fish and Game among others. [3]
Agnew is notable for his attention to accuracy and authenticity, having studied various game fish species in detail, paying particular attention to their dramatic change in appearance under differing light conditions. [4] [5]
Agnew grew up in the Missouri Ozarks, and developed his great appreciation for the outdoor there, becoming an avid fisherman and recognized for his knowledge of smallmouth bass. [6] He received his degree in secondary education from Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau. As an art medium, Agnew began his career working in watercolors, transitioning to oils and acrylics midway through his career. [7] [8]
An avid fisherman [5] and conservationist, Agnew has served on advisory boards concerning river conservation issues and is active in the Smallmouth Alliance, a national organization devoted to preserving small mouth bass fisheries. He has donated artwork to several organizations for their fund raising efforts including the Wolf Education Task Force and the International Grizzly Bear Committee. Sales from three wolf posters raised more than a million dollars for the task force. [6] Overall through specially commissioned artwork and his efforts as a conservationist, Agnew has raised millions of dollars to benefit wildlife through work with organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, The National Wild Turkey Federation, The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Black Bass Foundation and the Wolf Recovery project. [9]
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus Micropterus, and is a popular game fish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stocking—as well as illegal introductions—to many cool-water tributaries and lakes in Canada and more so introduced in the United States. The maximum recorded size is approximately 27 inches and 12 pounds. The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, and up into the Hudson Bay basin. The world record size was 11 lbs and 15 ounces caught in the reservoir Dale Hollow, on the Kentucky—Tennessee border. Its common names include smallmouth, bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, and bareback bass.
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