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Kent Ullberg

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Kent Ullberg (Born 1945) is active/lives in Texas, Colorado / Africa, Sweden.  Kent Ullberg is known for Monumental wildlife sculpture.

Biography photo for Kent Ullberg
 Born in Sweden, Kent Ullberg became a resident of Corpus Christi, Texas from where he became one of the more recognized American wildlife sculptors in the late 20th century. He has done numerous public commissions.

In 1998, he won the top award at the Prix de West show in Oklahoma City for his bronze Ocean's Cradle. The work depicts a mother otter cradling her pup and resulted from a three-day trip in the Pacific Ocean sketching and photographing sea otters and their pups cavorting in the waters off California's Monterey Peninsula.

His twelve-foot high bronze of whooping cranes, Rites of Spring, is located near the entrance to the Margaret Woodson Fisher Sculpture Gallery at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Source:
"Southwest Art"   ...  [Displaying 805 of 10304 characters.]  Artist bio

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.  askART's database currently holds 265 auction lots for Kent Ullberg (of which 203 auction records sold and 0 are upcoming at auction.)

Artist artworks for sale and wanted

.  There are 2 artworks for sale on our website by galleries and art dealers . There are 7 galleries and art dealers listing works of art by Kent Ullberg as either "Wanted" or "For Sale" .

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.  askART lists Kent Ullberg in 0 of its research Essays. Kent Ullberg has 36 artist signature examples available in our database.

Similar artists

.  There are 24 similar (related) artists for Kent Ullberg available:    William Whitaker Jr,  Gerald Balciar,  John DeMott,  Sherry Salari Sander,  Thomas Quinn,  Jim Wilcox,  Kyle Sims,  Richard D Thomas,  Gene Zesch,  Bill Nebeker,  Tony Eubanks,  Ralph Oberg,  Veryl Goodnight,  Tim Cherry,  Sarah Woods,  Herb Mignery,  Matt Read Smith,  Jimmy Dyer,  Wayne Baize,  Sandy Scott,  James Boren,  Tim Shinabarger,  George Hallmark,  Robert Peters



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Facts about Kent Ullberg

   Kent Ullberg  Born:  1945 - Gothenburg, Sweden
Known for:  Monumental wildlife sculpture

Biography from the Archives of askART

Born in Sweden, Kent Ullberg became a resident of Corpus Christi, Texas from where he became one of the more recognized American wildlife sculptors in the late 20th century. He has done numerous public commissions.

In 1998, he won the top award at the Prix de West show in Oklahoma City for his bronze Ocean's Cradle. The work depicts a mother otter cradling her pup and resulted from a three-day trip in the Pacific Ocean sketching and photographing sea otters and their pups cavorting in the waters off California's Monterey Peninsula.

His twelve-foot high bronze of whooping cranes, Rites of Spring, is located near the entrance to the Margaret Woodson Fisher Sculpture Gallery at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Source:
"Southwest Art"


Biography from Altermann Galleries and Auctioneers, VII

A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg is recognized as one of world's foremost wildlife sculptors. He studied at the Swedish Konstfack University College of Art in Stockholm and at museums in Germany, the Netherlands and France. He lived for seven years in Botswana, Africa and served the last four years there as curator at the Botswana National Museum and Gallery. He has made his home permanently in the United States where he now lives on Padre Island, Corpus Christi, Texas. He also maintains a studio in Loveland, Colorado.

Ullberg is a member of numerous important art organizations that have honored him with many prestigious awards. These include, in New York City: the Allied Artists of America, the National Arts Club, the National Sculpture Society, and the Society of Animal Artists. In 1990 his peers elected him a full academician (NA), thus making him the first wildlife artist since John James Audubon to receive on of the greatest tributes in American art. His memberships outside New York include: the American Society of Marine Artists, the Society of Wildlife Art of the Nations (SWAN) in Sandhurst, UK, and the National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma City, OK which awarded him the Prix de West, the foremost recognition in western art.

While he has completed hundreds of works on a small scale, he is perhaps best known for the monumental works he has executed for museums and municipalities from Stockholm, Sweden, to Cape Town, S. Africa. His Fort Lauderdale, FL and Omaha, NE installations are the largest wildlife bronze compositions ever done, spanning several city blocks.

In 1993 and once again most recently in 2008, Ullberg received the Henry Hering Medal from the National Sculpture Society for outstanding collaboration between architect and sculptor in a monumental sculpture.

Ullberg's work has been shown and can be found in major museums and corporate headquarters around the globe, incl: the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, Sweden; the Salon d'Automne, Paris, France; the National Gallery in Botswana, Africa; the National Geographic Society, Washington DC; the Exhibition Hall, Beijing, China; the Guildhall, London, UK; and many more. His sculptures can also be found in the private collections of world leaders and celebrities.

Kent Ullberg is a major supporter of many wildlife conservation efforts. In 1996 he received the Rungius Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the National Museum of Wildlife Art, given to artists, authors and conservationists who have made significant contributions to the interpretation and conservation of wildlife and its habitat.

Source: artist's website (http://www.kentullberg.net/bio.html)


Biography from Pitzer's Fine Arts

A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg studied at the Swedish Konstfack School of Art in Stockholm, and at museums in Germany, the Netherlands, and France. He lived for seven years in Botswana, Africa, studying its wildlife and people, and served the last four years there as curator at the Botswana National Museum and Art Gallery. He has permanently made his home in the United States where he now lives on Padre Island, Corpus Christi, Texas.

His work has been shown all over the world, including at the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, Sweden; the Salon d'Automne in Paris, France; the National Gallery in Botswana, Africa; the Exhibition Hall, Beijing, China the Guildhall in London, U.K.; the National Geographic Society, Washington, DC; etc.

Kent has completed and installed a large number of monumental sculptures worldwide, including Deinonychus Dinosaurs, a 25 ft monument on Logan Square, Philadelphia; American Eagle monument, a 21 ft composition in Princeton, NJ; a Conservation Fountain for Washington, D. C.; The Broward Convention Center Marine Fountain, 150 ft long, by 36ft tall for the City of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and a 65ft tall installation for the Swedish Government Tele-Com Center in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ullberg is a member of numerous art organizations from which he has received many outstanding awards, i.e. the National Academy of Design, N.Y.C. (Which elected Kent to the status of Full Academician- NA- Spring of 1990- The highest professional recognition bestowed on visual artists in America); the National Sculpture Society, N. Y. C.; National Academy of Western Art, Oklahoma City, OK; Society of Animal Artists, N. Y. C.; the American Society of Marine Artists, CT; the National Arts Club, N. Y. C.; the Society for Wildlife Art of the Nations, Sandhurst, England.

He has won the Gold Medal for Sculpture in 1981, 1982, 1988, and 1990 at the National Academy of Western Art; was awarded the Gold Medal from the National Sculpture Society in N. Y. C. in 1983; received the Barnett Prize in 1975 and the Elin P. Speyer Award in 1985 from the National Academy of Design in N. Y. C.; and given the Silver Medal for Sculpture in 1989 and the Marguerite M. Hexter Award in 1990 from the Allied Artists of America; N. Y. C. Additionally, in 1993 he received the Henry Hering Medal from the National Sculpture Society for outstanding collaboration between architect and sculptor in a monumental sculpture.


Biography from Trailside Galleries

Kent Ullberg's journey as an artist began in the seaside town of Gothenburg, Sweden. As a child, Ullberg accompanied his father, a seaman and a landscape painter, on field trips. While the father painted, the son watched. His father hoped these trips would instill an interest in painting, but young Ullberg was more interested in watching the unfolding drama of nature.

The experience sparked a lifelong commitment to the environment and wildlife. But there would be many starts and stops before the journey would bring him to Padre Island, Texas. After high school, Ullberg followed the footprints of his Swedish ancestors, and joined the Merchant Marines, sailing to ports-of-call along the South American coastline. Returning to Sweden, he studied at the Swedish Konstack School of Art in Stockholm. Then he traveled to the museums of Germany, France, and Holland for more study.

While he studied, he supported himself doing taxidermy, anatomical sculpture, and skeleton cleaning. Ullberg credits these jobs with providing him with a broad understanding of animal anatomy. With a Bachelor of Science Degree in museology, he found a taxidermy job in Botswana, Africa. He spent seven years there, four of them as a curator of the Botswana Museum and Art Gallery.

In 1972, Ullberg hosted representatives from the Denver Museum of Natural History on an expedition to Botswana. In 1974, he accepted a position as a curator with the Denver Museum.

He is a full Academician of the National Academy of Design and a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society. In 1994, he had a 70' wildlife monument dedicated in Stockholm. A monumental sculpture, It Is I (Christ) was unveiled in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1995. Sailfish In Three Stages Ascending, in Fort Lauderdale, FL, is the world's largest wildlife monument. In 1996, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, WY awarded him the Rungius Medal in recognition of a lifelong dedication to wildlife and its habitat. In 1997, he became a member of the Explorers Club in New York City. He won the 1998 Prix de West Award for a bronze of mother and child sea otters titled Ocean's Cradle.

Ken Ullberg's work was selected for the 2002 Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage show.


Biography from Whistle Pik Galleries

A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg has done hundreds of wildlife works on a small scale, and is perhaps best known for the 27 monumental works he has executed for museums and municipalities from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town, South Africa.

One of the  largest bronze casting ever attempted is 36' high and 120' long, capturing the stages of a sailfish leaping form the water. 

The recipient of awards from the National Arts Club, the National Sculpture Society, the Society of Animal Artists and the National Academy of Western Art, he has completed commissions for the National Wildlife Federation Headquarters, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and the Museum of Natural History in Gothenburg, Sweden.

A member of the American Society of Marine Artists, Ullberg was elected a full "Academician" by the National Academy of Design.

In 1995, Kent received the Frederic Remington Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, for his bronze sculpture of a bison called Headmaster. His work can be found in the private collection of H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and numerous museums and corporations around the world.


Biography from Gary Osborne Fine Art

The Swedish born sculpture Kent Ullberg has received wide critical praise as a fore running visionary of the modern wildlife monument.  His list of museum, government, corporate, and private patrons extends across four continents.  His public monuments have won the hearts of those who cherish wildness in an increasingly developed world, and his pioneering designs, cast in bronze and stainless steel, have earned him growing admiration from art historians and peers.

"No one during the latter half of this century has celebrated the animal form with greater enthusiasm and virtuosity. Very simply, Kent's public monuments have come to symbolize an age of environmental awareness that is a stepping stone to the next millennium." By Roger Tory Peterson.


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