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Quote: From Hornaday’s The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals, 1922, “Of all the ruminant animals I know intimately, the white mountain goat is the philosopher-in-chief. Were it not so, how would it be possible for him to live and thrive, and attain happiness, on the savage and fearsome summits that form his chosen home? We must bear in mind that the big-horn does not dare to risk the haunts and trails of his white rivals. Hear the Cragmaster of the Rockies: "On dizzy ledge of mountain wall, above the timber-line I hear the riven slide-rock fall toward the stunted pine. Upon the paths I tread secure no foot dares follow me, For I am master of the crags, and march above the scree."
[Illustration with caption: THE STEADY-NERVED AND COURAGEOUS MOUNTAIN GOAT He refused to be stampeded off his ledge by men or dog. Photographed at eight feet by John M. Phillips (1905).]
The Cragmaster
Artist/Maker
Carl Rungius
United States, born Germany, 1869 - 1959
(not specified)
John M. Phillips
Datec. 1915
MediumOil on Canvas
Dimensionsimage: 16 1/2 × 12 1/4 in. (41.9 × 31.1 cm)
frame: 25 1/2 × 21 1/2 in. (64.8 × 54.6 cm)
Credit LineJKM Collection, National Museum of Wildlife Art
Object numberW1995.075
ClassificationsPainting
Categorywildlife
DescriptionOne mountain goat walks along thin, rocky cliff. The rocky mountain side slopes down to the right. Tall moutnain peaks can be seen in the distance.Quote: From Hornaday’s The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals, 1922, “Of all the ruminant animals I know intimately, the white mountain goat is the philosopher-in-chief. Were it not so, how would it be possible for him to live and thrive, and attain happiness, on the savage and fearsome summits that form his chosen home? We must bear in mind that the big-horn does not dare to risk the haunts and trails of his white rivals. Hear the Cragmaster of the Rockies: "On dizzy ledge of mountain wall, above the timber-line I hear the riven slide-rock fall toward the stunted pine. Upon the paths I tread secure no foot dares follow me, For I am master of the crags, and march above the scree."
[Illustration with caption: THE STEADY-NERVED AND COURAGEOUS MOUNTAIN GOAT He refused to be stampeded off his ledge by men or dog. Photographed at eight feet by John M. Phillips (1905).]
On View
On viewFrancis Lee Jaques
Melvin Johansen