Reckless, uninhibited and brazen, photographer Peter Beard was, as The Washington Post put it, “as wild as the animals he photographed.” Beard produced some of the most beautiful images of wildlife ever captured on film.
Beard was born in 1938 in New York City. His great-grandfather was James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern Railway. As a child, he spent his summers at his grandmother’s Tuxedo Park estate, where she gave him his first camera, a Voightländer. He used it to take pictures to accompany his diaries; Beard was a keen diarist throughout his life, amassing more than 100 volumes. At the age of 17, he took a life-changing trip to Africa with Quentin Keynes, Charles Darwin’s great-grandson, using his Voightländer to photograph wildlife.
After attending prestigious private schools such as Buckley and Pomfret, Beard entered Yale University in 1957 as a pre-med student. However, he soon turned his attention toward art, studying under architectural historian Vincent Scully, German artist Josef Albers and painter Richard Lindner. He graduated in 1961 with a degree in art history.
In the 1960s, Beard returned to Africa, where he met Out of Africa author Karen Blixen. Enamored by the continent’s natural beauty, he purchased Hog Ranch near Blixen’s coffee plantation in Kenya. While there, he received a special dispensation from President Uhuru Kenyatta to film, photograph and document the flora and wildlife at Tsavo National Park. This led to The End of the Game, published in 1965, which documented the demise of more than 35,000 starving elephants and 5,000 black rhinos.
Beard became renowned for his black-and-white and color photography, figurative photos and landscapes. He exhibited around the world, including at New York’s Blum Helman Gallery in 1975, the International Center of Photography in Manhattan in 1977, the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris in 1996 and Guild Hall in East Hampton in 2016.
Beard died in 2020 at the age of 82. His works remain in demand with collectors.
On 1stDibs, find original Peter Beard photography, mixed media work and prints.
Peter Beard - Elephant's Embryo, Uganda, Platinum Print- Unsigned
By Peter Beard
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Elephant's Embryo, Uganda Aributed to Peter Beard/Unsigned The original photograph "unsigned" but documented by its inclusion in "Peter Beard - Fifty Years of Portraits, The End of the Game...
Platinum
$143,010
H 29.93 in W 43.78 in
Elephants Walking Through Grass, Amboseli – Nick Brandt, Elephants, Photography
By Nick Brandt
Located in Zurich, CH
NICK BRANDT (*1966, England) Elephants Walking Through Grass, Amboseli 2008 Platinum print Image 58.42 x 106.68 cm (23 x 42 in.) Sheet 76 x 111.2 cm (29 7/8 x 43 3/4 in.) Edition of ...
Platinum
Eric Kanigan - My Name's Not Dick, Photography 2023, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"Selection matters. Selection matters even more when you’re making a choice for life. Among bald eagles, till death do us part holds true. Only in the event of a partner's passing—...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
Eric Kanigan - Social Hour, Photography 2022, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"“You had a once-in-a-year day today.” Wildlife experiences tend to be easier to describe in feelings than in frequency. Even then, I often find myself taking days, months, or even ...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
Eric Kanigan - Three's Company, Photography 2022, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"In the search for images over the past few years, I've often felt drawn to the singular. Whether this has been more of a creative decision or some subconscious pull is a topic for a...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
$3,750
H 20 in W 30 in
Eric Kanigan - How Deep is Your Love, Photography 2023, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"The moment you hit the water, you’re overcome by a profound sense of nothingness. At times, it feels almost like vertigo as you try to orient yourself. When you look down and around...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
Eric Kanigan - Free Bird, Photography 2022, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"Capturing an image of any wildlife comes with inherent challenges—harsh conditions, dark coloration that swallows light, and unpredictable, fast movement. The bald eagle manages to...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
Last Comes the Raven
By Beth Moon
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Beth Moon is an American-born photographer. She has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum prints. This portfolio focuses on totem-like beliefs ...
Platinum
$3,000
H 22.5 in W 18 in
Eric Kanigan - Diners, Darkness, and Dives, Photography 2023, Printed After
Located in Stamford, CT
"Form and function are tightly knit across the animal kingdom. And if ever there were a being built for the deep, it would be this one. The sperm whale is the largest predator on th...
Archival Pigment, Platinum, Silver Gelatin
Way of the Hare 3
By Beth Moon
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Beth Moon is an American-born photographer. She has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum prints. This portfolio focuses on totem-like beliefs ...
Platinum
Listening to the Sky
By Beth Moon
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Beth Moon is an American-born photographer. She has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum prints. This portfolio focuses on totem-like beliefs ...
Platinum
Path of the Fox 2
By Beth Moon
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Beth Moon is an American-born photographer. She has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum prints. This portfolio focuses on totem-like beliefs ...
Platinum
Sojourn of the Songbirds
By Beth Moon
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Beth Moon is an American-born photographer. She has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum prints. This portfolio focuses on totem-like beliefs ...
Platinum
Sold
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Peter Beard - Elephant's Embryo, Uganda, Platinum Print- Unsigned
By Peter Beard
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Elephant's Embryo, Uganda Peter Beard/Unsigned The original photograph "unsigned" but documented by its inclusion in "Peter Beard - Fifty Years of Portraits, The End of the Game, Eyelids of Morning, and many others. Image size: 16 in. H x 20 in. W Platinum print Peter Hill...
Platinum
Peter Beard - Charge Déléphant/Unsigned
By Peter Beard
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Charge Déléphant Elephant reaching for the last branch on a tree, Kenya, 1965 Peter Beard/Unsigned The original photograph unsigned but documented by its inclusion in "Peter Beard - Fifty Years of Portraits, The End of the Game, Eyelids of Morning and many others. Image size: 19½ in. H x 13 3/8 in. W Sheet size: 20 in. H x 16 in. W Platinum print Peter Hill...
Platinum