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Hemingway's Dream
Hemingway's Dream

Hemingway's Dream

Artist/Maker Theodore Waddell United States, born 1941
Date1992
MediumOil on Canvas
Dimensions72 × 78 in. (182.9 × 198.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Otto and Jill Stolz Foundation, National Museum of Wildlife Art
Object numberW2012.028
ClassificationsPainting
SignedSigned
On View
Not on view
DescriptionBull elephant with rough background of greens and blues. Ted Waddell in a recent email - "As for Hemingway's Dream, on my first trip to Africa, I tried to read Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa. Hemingway was a manly man in that he went every where, killing things, birds, elephants, etc. We were out on a large open plain where you could see a long way. In the middle of this plain was a small spring and in the spring was a huge bull elephant throwing mud over his body, having a grand time. Peaceful, mellow. The result of this was Hemingway's Dream. It made no sense and still makes no sense to kill these magnificent creatures. It was like shooting a two story house. The hunters use high powered rifles to do this from a distance. Big deal.

At other times, I was in close to a herd of elephants and somehow got close to a calf. The Momma got pretty mad and I thought I was a goner. The guy that was with me said don't run, turn sideways so you are not confrontational. It worked. Scared the hell out of me."
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