Quick Pick — Carl Rungius at the Whyte Museum in Banff

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Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius, “Moose, Upper Ram River Valley,” detail, 1935, oil on canvas, 30" x 40" (courtesy of the Whyte Museum Collection)

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is featuring the work of the late German painter Carl Clemens Muritz Rungius. The exhibition, Capturing the Wild, is on now through Jan. 19, 2025. 

Born in Germany in 1869, Rungius knew when he was very young that he wanted to be a wildlife painter. “His early experience sketching live animals and carcasses led to a realistic painting style that earned him recognition as North America's most important big-game naturalist painter,” according to the Whyte team.

“In 1896, Rungius emigrated to the United States, where he gained prominence as an illustrator for sporting books and magazines.”

A few years later, in 1910, he was invited to come on a hunting trip in Banff; the trip turned into the beginning of a life-long love for the Canadian Rockies, and Rungius spent close to 50 years painting and exploring the region. 

Rungius died in 1959 and Glenbow founder Eric Harvie bought his estate — his art, plus personal belongings and the contents of studios in Banff and New York. Rungius's ashes were scattered on Banff's Tunnel Mountain. ■

Carl Rungius, Capturing the Wild, is on view now through Jan. 19, 2025 at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alta.

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