Elephent Art Gallery

Original painting 816 x 534 mm of a Charging Bull Elephant. Oil on board, signed. Price will increase with time, buy now to avoid the rush. Vic Andrews is a South African born painter who has paintings in galleries world wide. He was born in 1922 (East London) and I believe is still alive in 2009. The frame corners are a bit loose and there are a few dents due to a number of house moves so it is included for free. 

Above the elephant's left ear is a brown line that came away with some surface grime in the manner or Marmite/Vegemite when I rubbed it gently with a damp finger. The painting is not dated but has been in the family for about 30 years. 

Click on the image to view a larger version. I also took a photo of the signature that shows the paint strokes reasonably well that I will gladly email on request. 

While taking more accurately measurements of the painting I found that it is not a canvass painting but in fact on 'board' (hardboard or compressed Masonite here in South Africa). 

Miniature Painting: Elephant

This is one of a series of paintings done by an artist in Jaipur. The style is that of the Jaipuri School of Miniature Paintings, which has been enjoying a revival in recent years. The paper used is antique court stamp paper. The stamp signifies the court fee paid. Since the amount paid is in "annas", the paper would date before 1957. (India adopted a decimal currency in 1957.) The paper was actually used for some court action - there is writing on the back (in a script/language that I cannot read - possibly in Urdu, although I could be wrong.)

I have a set of three of these paintings, and have given more away as gifts. I love the way they capture India - tradition foremost in the way that the new mingles with the old.

Elephent Art

Elephants are amongst the world's most intelligent species. With a mass of just over 5 kg (11 lb), elephant brains are larger than those of any other land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twenty-fold those of a typical elephant, whale brains are barely twice the mass of an elephant's brain. The elephant's brain is similar to that of humans in terms of structure and complexity - such as the elephant's cortex having as many neurons as a human brain, suggesting convergent evolution.
Elephants exhibit a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, allomothering, mimicry, art, play, a sense of humor, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory and possibly language. All indicate that Elephants are highly intelligent; it is thought they are equal with cetaceans and primates in this regard. Due to the high intelligence and strong family ties of elephants, some researchers argue it is morally wrong for humans to cull them.
Aristotle once said that elephants were "The beast which passeth all others in wit and mind."