Charles Timothy Prutzer (American, b. 1954). "Great Gray Owl" acrylic painting. Signed on upper left, n.d. A striking painting of a Great Grey Owl - a large bird of prey that is among the tallest owl species - perched amidst snow-covered evergreens by Charles Timothy Prutzer. Prutzer captures the magnificence of this beautiful owl, with its impressively large face, piercing yellow eyes, broad wings, and enchanting silvery plumage. Prutzer's approach combines a striking composition with an impressionistic emphasis on light and color, featuring alluring shades of forest green, mauve, rose, grey, sienna, and black. A mesmerizing painting of a Great Gray Owl - "a big nightbird, haunting woods of the far north and certain high mountains of the west" according to the Audubon Society - on a snowy eve, set in an attractive custom frame. Size: 28.75" L x 21.125" W (73 cm x 53.7 cm) Size of frame: 34.7" L x 26.875" W (88.1 cm x 68.3 cm)

Charles Timothy Prutzer creates his works in plein-air, preferring the intimacy of field work to painting from photographs. In his words, "Distant snapshots don't contain the spirit or honesty captured in plein air." Known for his paintings of birds and wildlife, this Colorado native began his career as a protege to bird artist Donald Leo Mallick at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in 1966 when he was only 12 years old. In time, Prutzer became a muralist, creating more than 30 natural history murals for both American and international venues. Prutzer was also named the artist-in-residence at the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve in Heidelberg, South Africa in 1979 where he regularly contributed to the Birds in Art exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.

In 2011, Laura Zuckerman featured Prutzer as a rising star in the world of wildlife art, along with Brian Grimm, Luke Frazier, Jan Martin McGuire, and Amy Ringholz in her wonderful article entitled "The New Wild Bunch" (Western Art & Architecture Winter/Spring 2011). Zuckerman rightfully described these artists' works as being "at the crossroads where representational art meets the almost abstract." More specifically about Prutzer she wrote, "Honesty is the aim and integrity the method for Charles Timothy Prutzer, who applies himself so wholly to each wildlife painting that his production is intentionally low. Prutzer's drive for authenticity has launched journeys to Africa, India and Spain for firsthand views of the animals he depicts."

Prutzer's artwork has been published in Best of Wildlife Art, edited by Rachel Rudin Wolf, 1999; Wildlife Art, edited by Edward Aldrich, 1998; and Artists for Nature in Extremadura, edited by Nicholas Hammond, 1995. His paintings have been exhibited at Beijing Natural History Museum, The People's Republic of China; the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid Spain and the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, Scotland.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#173014

Signed by the artist on the upper left. Painting is set in a custom frame under glass and has not been examined outside the frame but appears to be in very good condition. Frame shows some surface wear with cracquelure, scuffs, nicks, and abrasions to finish; however, this wear makes for a pleasing aesthetic that complements the composition quite nicely. Tears to gallery paper on verso that do not impact the painting. Wired for suspension and ready to display.