The Natural Eye:
Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition

14 to 24 October
Mall Galleries, London SW1

Preview Wednesday 13 October, 2 pm to 6 pm

Many of us discovered a love of local wildlife while in lockdown, appreciating the creatures living in our gardens and parks with a ten-fold increase in people taking up birdwatching while working from home.

So, how many species will you be able to recognise in The Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition this year?

There are paintings of many of the UK’s favourite and most iconic members of the animal kingdom; Badgers, hedgehogs, foxes, blue tits and puffins.

A number of artists including Kittie Jones, Richard Allen and Robert Greenhalf have specialised this year in waterfowl and seabirds, while Lousie Scammell has gone beneath the surface of the water to paint cuttlefish and brittle stars.

Robert Greenhalf SWLA Lapwings, Evening Light;
Richard Allen SWLA Lapwing Gathering; Louise Scammell SWLA The Cunning Cuttlefish; David Bennett SWLA Otter And Perch; Kittie Jones SWLA Guillemot Cluster

Julia Manning has produced a series of prints mourning The Decline of Eels, a species which once thrived in London rivers but is now considered Critically Endangered.

She explains “The European eel is classed as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it appears on their ‘Red List’ of threatened species. Since 1970, the number of juvenile eels entering the European fishery has declined by more than 95%. These Anguillid eels have been around for about 80 million years.

Glass eels come in from the sea and ascend our waterways, once they’ve been in freshwater for a short time they change into elvers. They become pigmented and resemble miniature versions of their pre-adult selves. They continue to grow and seek suitable habitats in which to thrive. At this early stage, these elvers and small yellow eels are sexually undifferentiated. They will either stay relatively small and become males in a fairly densely populated part of the river system, normally the lower, downstream areas; or they will move further upstream into less densely populated areas where they will become females and grow much larger. The gender trigger appears to be density-dependent.

The many weirs and man-made obstructions that are used to regulate and control river flows may hinder these upstream migrations. Special ‘eel passes’ have been designed and can be installed to overcome these obstacles”

Julia Manning SWLA The Decline Of Eels. No2 ESCAPEMENT;
Julia Manning SWLA The Decline Of Eels No.6 LIFE AND DEATH

Another creature depicted that few of us will have seen in person, but we all heard much about this year is the Pangolin. Nick Mackman’s bronze celebrates the most trafficked animal in the world and one that was perhaps unfairly implicated in spreading the coronavirus to humans.

He says “I've long been captivated by the pangolin's beautiful form and delicate scales and wanted to celebrate this in a sculpture as a pangolin uncurls from its defensive ball.

Capturing the intricacy of its scales was truly a labour of love, each one having to be painstakingly modelled. Pangolins have a rich brown patina which means they are perfectly suited to bronze: emphasising their shape, form and texture.”

Nick Mackman SWLA Pangolin

The Society of Wildlife Artists is a registered charity that seeks to generate an appreciation of and delight in the natural world through all forms of fine art based on or representing the world’s wildlife. It is a showcase for the very best of art inspired by the natural world. Included with the work of members from the UK, mainland Europe, North America and Russia is that of successful Bursary applicants, as well as a large selection of work from non-members. The Natural Eye is considered the foremost event in the British wildlife art calendar.

The Natural Eye 2021
Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition

The exhibition will be open to the public, with Covid safety measures in place, from 14 to 24 October
Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1

For those not yet able to travel, there will also be a Virtual Tour allowing you to take an Online Stroll around the gallery from the comfort of home.
And as always, all the works are available to Browse & Buy online too.