Rungius, Carl, 1869-1959

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1869-08-18

Death 1959-10-21

Nationality: Americans,

Biographical notes:

Carl Rungius (1869-1959) was a painter and illustrator of wildlife in New York, N.Y., Western U.S. and Banff, Alberta, Canada.

From the description of Carl Rungius papers, 1896-1995. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 756821115

From the description of Carl Rungius papers, 1896-1995. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 779477654

From the description of Carl Rungius papers, 1896-1978. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 744437373

Carl Rungius (1869-1959) was a painter and illustrator of wildlife in New York, N.Y., the Western U.S. and Banff, Alberta, Canada.

From an early age Rungius enjoyed hunting and wanted to be an artist. Between 1888 and 1890 he was enrolled at the Berlin Academy of Art in his native city, but the curriculum did not suit his interests. He spent much of his free time at the Berlin Zoo studying and sketching animals, and often visited a glue factory that afforded opportunities to observe animal anatomy.

In 1894 an uncle invited Rungius to visit him in Maine and hunt moose. The following summer Rungius stalked game in Wyoming where the variety and abundance of wildlife and the dramatic western landscape greatly impressed him. Rungius immigrated to the United States in 1896.

Growing concern about native animal populations and a conservation movement aided by the efforts of President Theodore Roosevelt generated many books, magazines, and other publications which Rungius frequently received commissions to illustrate. He ceased illustration work around 1909 to devote himself to easel painting. Rungius first visited the Canadian Rockies in 1910 and so enjoyed painting and hunting there that eventually he built a studio in Banff, where he worked each April through October from 1921 until his death in 1959.

From the guide to the Carl Rungius, 1896-1995, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)