ARTIST: Don Balke (North Carolina, born 1933)
TITLE: Alaska Musk Ox
YEAR: 1979
MEDIUM: gouache and watercolor on board
CONDITION: Very good.
ART SIZE: 13 x 14 inches / 33 x 35 cm
BOARD SIZE: 20 x 23 inches / 50 x 58 cm
SIGNATURE: lower left
NOTE: This art was originally published in the limited edition collection of philatelic proofcards issued by Fleetwood and the National Audubon Society for the Wildlife of the 50 States. Looking like large, shaggy cattle, musk oxen roam Alaska's frigid countryside. Ovibos moschatus are long, low and appear to be plump, but the musk oxen's thick coat creates much of its bulk. Their shaggy winter coats protect them from frigid climates, and are so warm that anyone dressed in a musk oxen coat would be well insulated, even at the highest altitudes. Like sheep, musk oxen shed their coats each spring. This similarity led to recent research which suggests musk oxen are not really oxen, nor do they have a musk odor. They are, however, closely related to sheep, goats and mountain goats. For centuries, Eskimos descriptively called musk oxen, Oomingmak, meaning the bearded one. High above their bearded chins, the enlarged base of the oxen's hard elastic horns forms a shield covering the crest of their heads. Musk oxen form a circular fortress when threatened, their horned heads lining the outer edge. When attacked, they fling predators into the air and, as they land, trample them. Less defensive against men, musk oxen were massacred during early arctic expeditions and were almost extinct by 1930. That same year, musk oxen from Greenland were relocated to Alaska and, by 1943, the herd numbered one hundred. Recent airplane surveys show a continuing increase. This artwork depicts the musk oxen grazing beneath the Alaskan state tree, the Sitka Spruce.
PROVENANCE: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online
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BIOGRAPHY:
Balke, the youngest of ten children, grew up on a farm in northern backcountry of Wisconsin. His family was completely dependent on the land; they tapped trees to make maple syrup; used crosscut saws for logging and horses for their farmwork; they raised crops for themselves and as income. His upbringing instilled in him a love of nature and wildlife. He received his first art award in a Wisconsin state-sponsored art contest while at elementary school for a painting of a black bear roaming in the woods. After serving in the US Army, he married Barbara Schernick and they moved to Chicago where he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, now known as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During his time at the Academy, he specialized in still-life paintings. After graduating, he was hired by a Chicago illustrating studio and eventually moved back to Wisconsin where he worked as a commercial art director. He won many awards for his work as an art director and illustrator. On his own time, late in the night, he painted and developed his skills as a wildlife artist. After 17 years, he left his work as an art director to devote himself completely to watercolors and wildlife art. By 1979, they had six children and a home in the village of Thiensville, Wisconsin. Balke's love of nature took him to the NC mountains where he bought 200 acres in McDowell County and built a home. In 1985, a gallery was added and the Don Balke Wildlife Gallery was opened. In 1987, his work was chosen as the illustration for the official NC Zoo poster. In 1992, the United States Post Office issued a series of first-class postage stamps portraying five different species of hummingbirds designed by Balke. Balke travels to Africa, Australia, Ireland, the Caribbean, and across the 50 United States for inspiration and research. His wife, Barbara Schernick Balke, does extensive research on the animals and their habitats in preparation for the paintings and does much of the photography on research trips. He is best known for his detailed and realistic watercolor paintings portraying wildlife in their natural environment. In 2000, he transitioned to a more impressionistic style with oils portraying scenes from Yosemite National Park in California, Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, and Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.