Tony Angell

Tony Angell (born November 15, 1940) is a figure in both the Seattle art scene and the Puget Sound environmental scene. His life’s work encourages aesthetic beauty and unflinching natural integrity, be it through artwork, publications, advocacy, or illustration. Angell brings a passion and ferocity to his love of nature that leaves audience members and readers alike inspired.

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Family history

Angell was born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence Brown Angell and Frank Angell. Florence Brown Angell, third generation Irish on her mother’s side, is the daughter of Jay and Jennie Brown of Bloomingdale, Michigan. Florence attended Western Michigan University where she earned her Elementary Teaching Certificate before her marriage to Frank Angell. Frank, born in Hastings Michigan, is the son of Horace and Mildred Angell who are Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch. Frank Angell graduated from Alma College and then received his law degree from the same institution in 1938. His parents had moved to Los Angeles after a succession of residencies connected with his father’s assignments with the FBI.

As part of his FBI assignment, Angell’s father was stationed in South America during World War II where he tracked enemy activity and influence. Following the war, Frank Angell left the Bureau and opened his H.F. Angell Investigations in Hollywood, California, where he would conduct his business for the next forty years. Some of Frank Angell’s work involved the “Hollywood” community, and Tony Angell recalls the likes of Howard Hughes, Marlon Brando, Charlie Chaplin, Susan Hayward and Lana Turner being among his clientle. Angell’s mother, on the other hand, taught third grade at a private school in the neighborhood and Sunday school at the First Christian Church of Studio City where Angell was baptized. She also continued her interest in painting, something that she and her son would share as a mutual interest throughout her life.

Early years

Angell’s inclination to work with his hands may have come from his maternal grandfather, a silo builder, woodworker and furniture maker. From only a few years old, Angell spent summers in Michigan with his mother’s family. It was here in the Michigan woods that Angell cut his teeth, so to speak, in developing a deep seated attraction to the natural world. Some of his first memories discovering nature are from his travels about the dirt roads of rural south central Michigan with his uncle Nat Mooy. Together they would wade into marshes and secluded meadows that can be found in the great hardwood forests that still remain.

In the early 1940s the Angell family took up residency in the San Fernando Valley, which was still largely undeveloped and surrounded by vegetable farms, citrus and walnut orchards. The Los Angeles River and its tributaries had yet to be encased in cement and were quite accessible. Before his teens Angell was hiking and fishing about the river channels or journeying into coastal mountains that bordered the region. Thus began a habit of observing and collecting birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and insects found in their natural habitat. At this time, his mother enrolled him in a correspondence course in taxidermy so he could preserve hi findings for future study. Through his studies, Angell began to understand his subject from the inside out. An experience that is certainly essential to Angell’s future career in the interpretation of nature.

Some of Angell’s first drawings were done while he was still in early grade school and he favored colored pencil and watercolors. His teachers recognized art as Angell’s best means of expression and strongly encouraged his continuation of graphic nature depictions throughout his primary and secondary school years. When beginning his artistic career, Angell regularly brought home one injured animal after another which kept the momentum of his artistic interests. Through the patience encouragement of Angell’s mother the portion of the house where his bedroom was became quite a menagerie. He soon added interest in falconry to his list of activities and allowed live hawks and falcons to take up residency in his room. From grammar school well into middle school rarely a day went by without Angell venturing out into the local wash to “hunt” or take his kestrel out for a short flight. Angell recalls his mother’s forgiveness of his routine absence to be stoic and as a result, his piano lessons suffered accordingly.

By middle and high school, Angell, who had always enjoyed sports, refined his athletic interests and played both football and threw the shot put at North Hollywood High School. His ability was such that he won the All City Los Angeles Championships in the shot put in 1958 and was selected to be on the All Conference First Team as a center in football. The athletic skills became his “ticket” out of the San Fernando Valley as he was recruited by both the track coach, Stan Hiserman and the football coach, Jim Owens, to attend the University of Washington on an athletic scholarship. He would later compete for the Washington Huskies and win numerous competitions in the shot put and discus. This interest in strength competition contributed to his eventually taking the title of Pacific Northwest arm wrestling champion in 1964 and first places in power lift contests throughout the northwest.

At the University of Washington Angell majored in English and Speech Communications and would later attend graduate school there after receiving his Secondary School Teaching Certificate in 1961 and his Bachelor Degree in 1962. It was in graduate school that Angell enjoyed the friendship and instruction of a Renaissance scholar, Dominic LaRusso. LaRusso introduced him to the rich history of art, particularly the sculpture and painting of the Florentine artists. Then too, it was at this time that Angell met the poet Ted Rothke who again inspired the young student with his literally skills that were gracefully combined with his skills as an athlete.

In 1966 he married Noel Gabie and for three years taught Speech, Psychology and English at Shorecrest High School north of Seattle. In 1969, Angell was selected to become the Supervisor of Environmental Education for the State of Washington and began a long career of working with the teachers of the state within the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. They had twin daughters in 1973, Gilia and Bryony. They would buy a home in Lake Forest Park, where Angell has remained for the past forty years. Divorced in 1988, Angell remarried Lee Rolfe in 1991 and remained in the house where they live with their two daughters Gavia and Larka.

Angell never suspended his interest in drawing even when in undergraduate and graduate school at the University. He recalls making new discoveries in nature when traveling to athletic competitions around the northwest and keeping small sketches to record what he saw and describe how he felt about it. His evenings in his office correcting student papers as a graduate assistant would often end by doing a wash painting of some bird he picked up during the day on campus. He would later joke that the faculty assumed that he must be the hardest working grad student enrolled in the program as the lights of his office burned into the early morning hours.^[2]

Beginning a career

The propensity to do several tasks simultaneously has always served Angell well. For more than thirty years his work in educational administration, as the State Supervisor for Environmental Education, allowed him to routinely survey and study the ecosystems of Washington. This kept him continuously in the field where he could make sketches and notes and later return to his studio to develop them into essays, drawings, paintings and eventually sculptures.^[3]

Being published in Pacific Search Magazine, (a regional science journal founded by Harriet Bullitt), opened Angell and his work up to a larger world. Angell would often say that being able to share his images and accounts of nature in this magazine through the late 1960s and early 1970s was an essential part of the foundation of his work to come.

In 1971 Angell ventured to Seattle to explore the possibility of showing the portfolio of drawings he had assembled over the past years. On the advice of friends he visited the Richard White Gallery and found to his delight that White knew all about his work having seen them in Pacific Search.^[4] Asked if he had any other work to show Angell mentioned the sculptures he had been completing in recent years and immediately White suggested that he and his architect friend Ralph Anderson come out and take a look. The visit was a success and Angell was selected for the Allied Arts Show of that summer. Something he later would describe as a “bit of a dream.” From 1971 to this day, Angell has remained to show with the gallery now known as Foster/White on 3rd. Ave. and quite a different place than the original single room walk up location on Occidental Square.

In 1970, Angell began his book writing career as a follow up to the many essays he had written for Pacific Search. These efforts would often produce a body of new drawings, paintings and sculptures that would provide the theme and inventory for his shows.

Influences

Inasmuch as Angell is self taught no formal instruction that has influenced his style, much less his choice of subject matter. He has often said that the endless forms and forces of Nature have provided the focus for his artistic response to the world. His opportunities to immerse himself in the collections at the Seattle Asian Art Museum^[5] provided a continuous exposure to the screen and carved work of the Edo period artists. Their economic use of detail and poignant designs certainly informed his developing style in both stone carving and pen and ink work. Painted works referencing nature by Northwest regional artists Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, James Washington and Philip McCracken are also much admired. Naturalist painters Bruno Liljefors, Carl Rungius and sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti have been cited as influential in his approaches to his work. Early in his career, the animal artists Francis Lee Jaques and Donald Eckelberry, and Fenwick Lansdowne all provided Angell with thoughtful reviews of his portfolio and gave great and timely encouragement.

While Angell’s sculptural interpretations of animal forms are not stylistically comparable to that of the carvings of the native people of the Pacific he nevertheless credits this singular art form as a source of inspiration for his stone carving. “Isolating the most salient elements of the subject, the Native carvers produced a statement of profound power.”

Ultimately his place of residency continues to have the greatest “influence” on the artist. The immeasurable and mysterious shapes and moods of nature in the Pacific Northwest are an inexhaustible source of inspiration and motivation. Whether in his studio along a watershed in Seattle or following seabirds from a bluff before his studio on Lopez Island the artist, as he says is “always collecting new ideas and reshaping old ones to advance my carved and painted testimony to the power and beauty of our wild companions

Style

That Angell abstracts his subjects is not in doubt, and what he produces is more of the distilled essence of the animal than the collection the details that compose it. As a naturalist he is sensitive to the reality of what he wishes to portray, but uses the shape of the stone to direct the ultimate fulfillment of the work. Rather than imposing his expectation to shape the stone, he is quick to say he “works” with or “listens” to the stone and finds out where it wishes to go.

His animal forms reveal a heartfelt respect for and understanding of his subjects and their place in nature. He in effect he seeks to have his work speak to the “sleekness” of a falcon, the “inquisitiveness” of a Raven and the “strength” of an eagle. These are not so much depictions of his subjects as they are tributes to the subject’s transcendent and distinct being.

Whether in stone or in bronze, his finished surfaces emphasize the major contour lines of the animal. He believes that the eye can become distracted by the detail one might include in a sculpted or painted form. With an emphasis on the subject’s shape and attitude he feels that the respondent is invited to consider its fullness and spirit rather than getting snagged by a labyrinth of surface detail.

Angell has sought to match his stone with his subject in large part by reading the shape of the stone and determining what is being suggested by it. In other words, what resides within the material and awaits liberation. Moreover, the material, marble, limestone, basalt or jade may also be of a color that matches the appearance, mood or action of his subject. For example to Angell a black marble or basalt piece will sometimes suggest a raven or falcon in similar colored plumage. A piece of green jade allows an elongation of the wings of a nighthawk amid the darkening colors of twilight.

Statements regarding work

“The Angell Way of working, of coaxing up out of that stone the raven or otter or owl wombed within there waiting to be brought to artistic life, relies on the sensing instruments that are his fingertips. He may cup his hand and run it inquiringly across the texture of the stone to fine the direction for his next chisel stroke. And so we have, in the mighty circle of work that Tony Angell has bestowed on us across the past four decades, an orb of double importance. An everlasting sense of the Puget Sound country that is nature’s blessedly varied kingdom, and within that a brilliantly preserved wingdom...“ ^[6]

“Tony Angell’s sculpture is iconic. It transcends its subject matter in a way that all great works of art must do to resonate through space and time. A thousand years from now, people will still be awestruck by the power and beauty of these sculptures.” Robert McCracken Peck, Author and Fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.^[7]

“Finding one’s own voice, one’s own authenticity, is perhaps the highest goal an artist seeks. In my estimation, Tony Angell has done this through his observation skills of nuances in the natural world and transformed them into shapes removed of all excess, leaving a form in pure, silent power.” George Carlson, sculptor ^[8]

“Tony’s subjects are living creatures far removed from basalt and marble. Life is their strength, and the challenge is to give to the stone and bronze not only a true outward likeness but an inner presence which radiates from it. This quality is there in all Tony’s work, and comes from a deep knowledge of how birds and animals live, and through sharing their environment.”

Artist statement:

“Because of its shape, color, pattern and hardness, the stone has its own story to tell. Only when I understand this can I remove the non essentials and begin to liberate the form within.”

"I've said that the shape and pattern in the stone itself suggests what I might carve from the material, but once the form begins to emerge I know something far more important is applied. I'm seeking to emphasize the living momentum of my subject. The ideas I want to realize are of a living force, not a fixed and stationary portrait. My subjects should reflect their deliberation over and engagement with the world around them while being presented in a fraction of a moment between their past and their future. I want them to speak of having been somewhere and to suggest what might be ahead for them. By doing this I can also provide a hint of the subject's larger world."

Education

• 1958–62 Bachelor of Arts, University of Washington
• 1963–66 Master of Arts Program, University of Washington

Selected public and corporate collections

• Redmond City Hall, Redmond, Washington.
• Bainbridge Island Public Library Garden Complex, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
• Bank of California, Seattle, Washington.
• Bank of Linden, Everett, Washington.
• Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington.
• Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
• City of Shoreline, Shoreline Washington.
• Fall City Public Library, Washington.
• Financial Center, Portland, Oregon.
• Frances Anderson Arts Center, Edmonds, Washington.
• Frank Love Elementary School, Juanita, Washington.
• Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington.
• Genesse Museum, Mumford, New York.
• Gilcrease Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Kiana Lodge, Bainbridge Island, Washington.
• Lake Forest Park Town Hall, Washington.
• Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin.
• Lynnwood Library, Lynnwood, Washington.
• Marysville High School Library, Marysville, Washington.
• Mercer Island Public Library, Mercer Island, Washington.
• Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, Washington.
• Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, Wyoming.
• Olympia Public Library, Washington.
• PACCAR Collection, Bellevue, Washington.
• Redmond Public Library —Wisdom Seekers, Redmond, Washington.
• Riverside High School, Auburn, Washington.
• Rock Creek Elementary School, Port Angeles, Washington.
• SAFECO Plaza, Seattle, Washington.
• Seattle Aquarium, Seattle, Washington.
• Seattle Financial Center, Seattle, Washington.
• Seattle Jockey Club, Seattle, Washington.
• Seattle Public Schools Administration Center, Seattle, Washington.
• Seattle Woodland Park Zoo/Educational Center, Seattle, Washington.
• Seattle Woodland Park Zoo/ Northern Trail, Seattle, Washington.
• UW Medical Center, Seattle, Washington.
• US West Communications Plaza, Northwest Collection, Seattle, Washington.
• Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
• Virginia Mason Clinic, Seattle, Washington.
• Walker Richer & Quinn Corporation, Seattle, Washington.
• Washington Mutual Savings Bank, Seattle, Washington
• Washington State Business and Trade Center, Seattle, Washington
• Whatcom Community College, Washington
• Women's University Club, Seattle, Washington

Books written and/or illustrated by the artist

• 2015 The House of Owls, Tony Angell, Yale University Press (author and illustrator)
• 2012 Gifts of the Crow, John Marzluff and Tony Angell, Atria Books (co-author and illustrator)
• 2009 Puget Sound Through An Artist Eye, Tony Angell, University of Washington Press (author and artwork)
• 2005 In the Company of Crows and Ravens, John Marzluff and Tony Angell, Yale Univ. Press (co-author and illustrator)
• 2004 Evolution and the Sex Problem, Bert Bender, Kent State Univ. Press (illustrator)
• 1998 Natural Habitat: Contemporary Wildlife Artists of North America, by William H. Gerdts, Spanierman Gallery, New York, New York
• 1998 Alaska's Copper River Delta, by Riki Ott, University of Washington Press (sculptural work included)
• 1997 Leading the West: 100 Contemporary Painters and Sculptors, by Don Haggerty, S.W. Art Press (work included) Pintores de la Naturaleza, by Robin Shilcock, Central Hespano (sculpture images included)
• 1995–97 Selected Biographies -Birds of North America, America Ornithologist's Union (illustrator)
• 1995 The Descent of Love, by Bert Bender, University of Pennsylvania Press (illustrator)
• 1992 The Pinyon Jay, written by John Marzluff and Russell Balda, illustrated by Tony Angell. T & AD, Poyser, London
• 1988 Sea Brothers: American Sea Fiction since Moby Dick, by Bert Bender. University of Pennsylvania Press (illustrator).
• 1985 Blackbirds of the Americas, by Gordon Orians, University of Washington Press, Seattle/London (illustrator)
• 1982 Marine Birds and Mammals of Puget Sound, by Tony Angell and Ken Blacomb, Sea Grant with distribution by University of Washington Press, Seattle/London (co-author/illustrator)
• 1978 Ravens, Crows, Magpies and Jays, Univ. of Washington Press, Seattle/London (author/illustrator)
• 1974 Owls, University of Washington Press, Seattle/London (author/illustrator)
• 1972 Birds of Prey of the Pacific Northwest Slope, Pacific Search Press, Seattle (author/illustrator)

References

External links

• Foster/White Gallery
• "Tony Angell Artist" by John Forsen for Seattle Channel and Fidget TV.
• Map to Tony Angell's public works
• "Tony Angell: Master Artist" for the City of Redmond, Washington
• Interview by Sheila Hartley with Tony Angell on King FM Radio

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