Black Bear

Richard Wagener

This is a marvelous portrait of the American black bear with its thick black coat and lighter snout, staring at and almost daring the viewer, done using wood-engraving. A notable American wood engraver, Richard Wagener's works are held in over 100 public collections in the United States and England. He was awarded the Oscar Lewis Award for contributions to the book arts.

The black bear is native to North America and typically lives in forested areas but will roam in search of food. Wagener engraves each line individually into the end-grain of the block, not with a multiple line tool. When asked if he had encountered this bear in the wild, Wagener responded:

“The Black Bear engraving was based on photographs taken at zoos and an unfinished engraving that I started many years ago. Trust me, if I encountered this bear in the wild, my first thought would not be to take a photograph.”