Kent Ullberg

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, June 23, 2008 -- Kent Ullberg is one of the world’s foremost wildlife sculptors and visionaries of the modern wildlife monument. His list of museum, government, corporate and private patrons spans four continents and his monuments rank among the largest and most respected in the world. Ullberg holds outstanding art/sculpture awards, gold medals and memberships from renowned global societies.

A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg studied at the Swedish Konstfack University College of Art in Stockholm and museums in Germany, the Netherlands and France. He lived for seven years in Botswana, Africa and was curator at the Botswana National Museum and Gallery. In the 1970s, he made a permanent home in the United States and now lives on Padre Island, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Loveland, Colorado.

Ullberg belongs to important art organizations and received many prestigious awards. Memberships include the Allied Artists of America, the National Arts Club, the National Sculpture Society and the Society of Animal Artists. In 1990, the National Academy of Design elected him a full academician (NA), the first wildlife artist since John James Audubon to receive one of the greatest tributes in American art. Other important memberships include the American Society of Marine Artists, the Society of Wildlife Art of the Nations (SWAN) in Sandhurst, England, and the National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma City which awarded him the Prix de West, the foremost recognition in western art.

While Ullberg completed hundreds of fine small-scale works, he’s best known for 80+ monumental works executed from Sweden to Africa to the Rockies. His Fort Lauderdale and Omaha installations are the largest wildlife bronze compositions ever made spanning several city blocks each. In 1993 and 2008, Ullberg received prestigious Henry Hering Medals from the National Sculpture Society for outstanding collaborations between architects and sculptors in monumental public sculpture.

Ullberg’s work has appeared in major museums and corporate headquarters around the globe including the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm; the Salon d’Automne, Paris; the National Gallery in Botswana; the National Geographic Society, Washington; the Exhibition Hall, Beijing; the Guildhall, London and many more. His sculptures can be found in the private collections of world leaders and celebrities.

Ullberg has been honored in 44 solo and group shows on four continents, is represented in 32 museum collections, featured in scores of magazine and newspaper articles and books, and the subject of three films, including one for PBS.

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.