American Moose

Boris Gilbertson aimed to combine an accurate representation of the animals with a decorative nuance consistent with the architecture of the building. Carved by air hammer, this decorative effect is achieved through the stylization of the background elements of sky and grass and also in the linear fur of the animals.

In American Moose, a bull raises his head apprehensively, standing guard over his cow and calf. The scene is set amid a landscape suggestive of a northwestern lake. To obtain sketches of moose, Gilbertson followed the animals throughout the Minnesota woods and engaged the help of his wife, who was also an artist. American Bison depicts part of a herd of grazing bison. The bulls and cows in the background form a protective barrier for two calves in the foreground. Gilbertson observed bison in captivity, both in zoos and in the national parks, while creating this composition.

Boris Gilbertson was born in 1907 in Evanston, Illinois. He began studying sculpture in 1927 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Gilbertson was a naturalist and focused the majority of his work on animals.