About Dan Metz (1951 - Present)

Those shining, snow capped solitudes, guardians of glaciers and birthplace of rivers, cracked and craggy, they are the crowns of countries.

These mountains and the American west have been a magnet for Dan Metz from his first remembrance. Since 1974, from the Gates of the Arctic to the Wrangells, the St. Elias and down the Rockies through Wyoming he has gone 'in country' to his subjects where they live. Only in this way can he hope to imbue his work with the intrinsic nature and spirit of the themes he loves to portray. The scope of his fieldwork is an anomaly these days and it is evident. He has been there.

There is only one goal – to make better paintings. His quest is not for some cold, mathematical precision but for a greater truth – the living, breathing essence of the animal.

Beginning as an illustrator in 1973, Dan knows how to "make a picture". Fine draftsmanship and design, along with a thorough knowledge of his subjects, are the hallmarks of his work.

Featured in 'Wildlife Art' and 'Sporting Classics' magazines, his work has appeared in numerous periodicals and books. Dan's article on the sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti was published in Sporting Classics in 2009. His paintings have toured in a host of Museum exhibitions across the country and he won the first Bell Museum Purchase award in 2005.
For a list of Dan's publication credits, click here: MAGAZINES | BOOKS | MUSEUMS

"By painting on site, even occasional small sketches, artists make a direct connection to the brain. We are actually putting our hands on the thing.
Creating, stroke-by-stroke, bit-by-bit, our own truth of the scene before us. Eye to hand to brain we can grasp it, understand it and remember how we got there."


"Carl Rungius once told Francis Lee Jaques, 'I have to go out in the wilderness. Zoo animals have not the proper carriage.' It is so true.
Muscle tone, attitude, the spark in the eye - it is the difference between life and death and the life of Riley." - All quotes, Dan Metz
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