Society of Animal Artists
An international artists' organization devoted to animal and wildlife art.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Society of Animal Artists is an artist organization dedicated to the creation, exhibition, and public appreciation of art depicting animals and wildlife. Founded in 1960 in the United States, it brings together artists working in painting, drawing, sculpture, and related forms. Its activities have historically combined professional association functions with a public exhibition program, particularly through its annual Art & the Animal exhibition. The Society grew from an informal New York metropolitan area community of artists who met to sketch and paint animals at the Bronx Zoo. A 1958 exhibition titled Animals in Bronx Zoo, held at Burr Galleries with support from the New York Zoological Society, received an enthusiastic response and helped inspire Patricia Allen Bott and Guido Borghi to establish a permanent association. The organization subsequently became connected with the Salmagundi Club and maintained an early office at the club's building at 47 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Its first exhibitions were presented at New York venues including Sportsman's Edge, the Grand Central Art Galleries, and the Alder Gallery. The Society's program is centered on an annual exhibition mandated by its bylaws. The exhibition was formally branded Art & the Animal beginning in 1988 and has been presented at museums and other cultural institutions. A portion of the exhibition is commonly toured around the United States, giving the organization a national outreach role beyond the venue hosting the premiere. The first museum venue identified in the Society's history was the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1981. Since then, the Society's work has appeared at more than 100 institutions in the United States and, in 1995, at the Old Algonquin Museum in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. The organization also has a historical relationship with wildlife conservation. Many members have supported conservation causes through the ecological themes of their work, donations, and sales-related contributions. This connection reflects the Society's origin in zoo-based observation and its broader effort to present animal subjects as both artistic and natural-history concerns. Exhibition documentation developed over time. The Society produced an eight-page black-and-white catalog for its 1978 Sportsman's Edge exhibition, followed by a more formal twenty-page catalog and program for the 1979 annual exhibition. Its 1980 exhibition and convention in San Antonio produced another black-and-white catalog, while the 1990 thirtieth annual exhibition introduced a forty-four-page, four-color catalog. In 2010, the Society marked its fiftieth anniversary with an exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The Society is not a commercial consumer brand or publicly traded company. Its principal offerings are membership, artist recognition, curated exhibitions, touring presentations, catalogs, and educational or public-facing programming related to animal art. Public reference material identifies Dr. David J. Wagner as its Tour Director and Curator, responsible for managing touring exhibitions and helping secure host institutions. Current administrative leadership, membership figures, and financial information are not established in the supplied sources.
History
The Society of Animal Artists emerged from the mid-twentieth-century growth of specialist artist associations and from a New York-area community interested in observing and depicting animals. Artists who met to paint at the Bronx Zoo helped create the conditions for a group centered specifically on animal subjects. Their work was publicly presented in the 1958 exhibition Animals in Bronx Zoo at Burr Galleries, an event sponsored by the New York Zoological Society. The favorable reception encouraged Patricia Allen Bott and Guido Borghi to form the Society in 1960. In its early period, the Society developed within New York's established art and club infrastructure. It became a member of the Salmagundi Club and had an office in the club's building at 47 Fifth Avenue. Early exhibitions took place at Sportsman's Edge, the Grand Central Art Galleries, and the Alder Gallery. Founding-era and early members included Elizabeth Rungius Fulda, Paul Bransom, John Clymer, Gifford Cochran, Brenda Frey, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Gertrude K. Lathrop, Robert Lougheed, Ugo Mochi, Clement Weisbecker, and Walter Wilwerding. Annual exhibitions became the Society's principal institutional activity. Its bylaws require the organization to arrange annual exhibitions, linking it to the older tradition of artist academies and societies that use recurring exhibitions to support professional standards and public visibility. The first museum venue identified in the Society's account was the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1981. The annual exhibition was renamed Art & the Animal in 1988, a title that expresses the Society's combination of artistic practice, natural-history interest, and public education. The late 1970s and 1980s saw the creation of a more developed exhibition infrastructure. An eight-page black-and-white catalog was issued for the 1978 Sportsman's Edge exhibition. The 1979 annual exhibition included formal programs and events and was accompanied by a twenty-page catalog. In 1980, Game Conservation International hosted the Society's exhibition and convention at the Four Seasons Plaza Nacional Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. The first four-color catalog was prepared for the thirtieth annual exhibition at St. Hubert's Giralda in New Jersey in 1990. Touring became an important extension of the annual exhibition. In 1988, David J. Wagner was recruited to create and manage tours of selected works and to find host institutions for the Society's exhibitions. Presentations were subsequently shown throughout the United States. The Society's historical account states that its work has appeared at more than 100 institutions, with approximately 70 percent of hosting venues being art museums or general museums that treat art as a core part of their mission. The program also reached Canada in 1995 through a presentation at the Old Algonquin Museum in Algonquin Park, Ontario. The Society's subject matter has maintained a close relationship with conservation. The original Bronx Zoo context connected art with public interest in animals, while members have continued to support ecological and conservation causes through the messages in their work and through contributions associated with donations and sales. This does not make the Society a conservation agency; rather, conservation is an important cultural and ethical dimension of its animal-art mission. In 2010, the Society marked fifty years with an exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Its continuing model is based on artist participation, annual exhibitions, museum partnerships, touring displays, catalogs, and public appreciation of animal and wildlife art. The supplied reference material does not establish a current headquarters, membership total, detailed governance structure, or financial position.
- 2010
Fiftieth anniversary
[1]The Society celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with an exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum.
- 1995
Exhibition presented in Canada
[1]The Society's exhibition program reached the Old Algonquin Museum in Algonquin Park, Ontario.
- 1990
First four-color catalog
[1]A four-color catalog was produced for the thirtieth annual exhibition at St. Hubert's Giralda in New Jersey.
- 1988
Art & the Animal and touring program
[1]The annual exhibition adopted the Art & the Animal name, and David J. Wagner was recruited to organize tours and secure host institutions.
- 1981
First identified museum exhibition venue
[1]The Society's annual exhibition was presented at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, its first museum venue identified in the reference history.
- 1960
Society founded
[1]Patricia Allen Bott and Guido Borghi founded the Society of Animal Artists.
- 1958
Animals in Bronx Zoo exhibition
[1]An exhibition at Burr Galleries in New York, sponsored by the New York Zoological Society, received the response that helped inspire the Society's creation.
Products and positioning
A specialist, conservation-aware professional organization that promotes fine art focused on animals and wildlife through juried or curated exhibitions, artist community activities, museum partnerships, and touring presentations.
Annual exhibition · 1988
Art & the Animal
The Society's principal annual exhibition program, featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture, and other art focused on animals and wildlife. Since receiving the Art & the Animal name in 1988, the program has been presented at museum and cultural venues and has also supplied works for touring exhibitions across the United States.
Traveling exhibition · 1988
Art & the Animal touring exhibition
A traveling selection of works drawn from the Society's annual exhibitions. The touring format extends the organization's reach beyond its premiere venue and has been shown at institutions throughout the United States, including art museums and general museums with substantial art programs.
Publication · 1978
Exhibition catalogs
Printed catalogs documenting Society exhibitions and participating artists. Catalog production developed from an eight-page black-and-white publication in 1978 to formal annual-exhibition documentation and, by 1990, a four-color catalog for the thirtieth annual exhibition.
Marketing campaigns
- 2010Fiftieth-anniversary exhibition
United States
A commemorative exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum marked five decades of the Society's artist association and exhibition activity.
Outcome. The anniversary was publicly commemorated through a museum exhibition.
- 1988Art & the Animal touring program
United States · Canada
The Society organized touring presentations of selected animal-art works and sought museum and cultural-institution hosts, turning its annual exhibition into a broader national outreach program.
Outcome. The exhibitions were displayed at more than 100 institutions in the United States and reached Canada in 1995.
Brand decisions
1988
Formalize the Art & the Animal touring modelStrategyBackground
The Society sought to broaden the audience for its annual animal-art exhibition beyond a single host venue.
Action taken
It adopted the Art & the Animal exhibition identity and recruited David J. Wagner to manage touring selections and host-institution relationships.
Aftermath
The program expanded the Society's institutional reach across the United States and later into Canada.
Sources2 sources
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