Owen J. Gromme (1896-1991), Wild Turkeys

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The Sporting Sale 2023, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 13, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-07-13 10:00:00 2023-07-13 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2023, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2023-day-1-12989
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• Lot Description
  Owen J. Gromme (1896-1991)
  Wild Turkeys, 1943
  signed and dated "Owen Gromme 43" lower right
  oil on canvas, 30 by 24 in.
  
  The successful reintroduction of the wild turkey to nearly the entirety of its historical range of North America is one of the great conservation stories of the last century. The onslaught of this majestic bird began with the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. The number of wild turkey at the time of their arrival was, by some estimations, as many as ten million birds. Clear-cutting, a common practice in the colonies, destroyed the forests where the turkey made its home. As a result of the loss of its habitat, by 1700 local bird populations had dwindled. Benjamin Franklin was an early admirer of the wild turkey and in a letter to his daughter in 1784, he pronounced his displeasure over the choice of the bald eagle as the national bird instead of the iridescent bronze game bird.
  
  John James Audubon (1785-1851) reported seeing wild turkeys by the hundreds along the Upper Mississippi in 1810. By 1951 the entire population in North America was estimated at a little over 300,000 birds with a legal annual harvest in fifteen states of 47,000 birds. This clearly unsustainable quota placed the bird in dire straits. Due to the tireless effort of conservation groups and hunters around the country, by 1999 the wild turkey population had rebounded to over five million birds, present in forty-nine of the fifty United States.
  
  This work, completed in 1943, was painted at a time when turkey stocks were at near collapse. The Spanish moss in the background places the work in the South, which due to its extensive habitat, was one of the wild turkey’s last bastions for the surviving population.
  
  Owen Gromme was born in Wisconsin in 1896, and he spent much of his childhood hunting in the wetlands and forests near his home. Gromme made his career as the Curator of Birds and Mammals at the Milwaukee Public Museum, staying in this position for over four decades. In this capacity, he traveled across the United States, as well as to Africa, documenting the wildlife he encountered. Although he was a high-school dropout, by the time of his death in 1991 Owen Gromme had received five honorary doctorates, as well as published "Birds of Wisconsin," which he also illustrated. Known for his conservation activism, his paintings reflect his love of the outdoors.
  
  Provenance: Private Collection, Georgia
  Private Collection, Wisconsin, acquired from the Sporting Sale 2011, lot 24
  
  Literature: James E. Cardoza, "The Wild Turkey: An Astonishing Success Story," MA, 2002.

  Condition

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