A Bear Chance by Philip Goodwin

A Bear Chance - Philip Goodwin - Oil Painting for Dining Room

Product Overview

Choose A Bear Chance as a hand painted oil painting and skip the compromise of printed wall decor. Based on Philip Goodwin's original. Our artists rebuild the fine art composition stroke by stroke, producing elegant canvas wall art with lasting color depth.

The Story Behind the Painting

1907
Illustration for Cream of Wheat
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, United States.

In this painting, a large brown bear sits in a clearing of a snowy pine-studded forest, devouring a wooden crate full of Cream of Wheat cereal. Its tracks mark the surrounding snow, reflecting the bear's deliberate movement in pursuit of its quarry. Exhibiting characteristic curiosity, independence, and voracious appetite, the bear appears to be perfectly comfortable in this winter wilderness, as it displays its deft survival skills. The painting conveys a clever marketing message by suggesting that the bear was lured from its winter den by the cereal. This is a testimony indeed to the alluring nature of Cream of Wheat since, normally, the bear would spend the winter in deep hibernation.

To promote a product, Goodwin has created a charming narrative scene as well as a compelling image. An innately strong and intelligent animal, the bear evokes a gamut of associations and connotations. American history is laced with tales of bears. Pioneer explorers such as Lewis and Clark and Davy Crocket encountered the grizzly bear in their push westward. Traditionally admired and respected by native Indian peoples for its extraordinary power, the bear is frequently represented on Native American art objects. Inspiring terror as well as amusement and affection, bears are especially intriguing to people, in part because we recognize human behavior in them. As powerful and dangerous as bears can be, they also evoke benign associations such as those related to the gentle and cuddly teddy bear, the responsible Smokey Bear, the delightful Winnie the Pooh, or the beguiling, hospitable animals in the fairytale Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Despite the large and lumbering nature of this bear, Goodwin emphasizes its ANTHROPOMORPHIC qualities. How human it appears as it sits and savors the cereal! Using its front paws like human hands, the bear firmly clutches the crate and nuzzles its mouth and nose greedily into the box. Its hearty appetite and obvious enjoyment could easily be translated to human experience. The image suggests that if you eat Cream of Wheat, you too will be strong, fortified, and able to survive the challenges at hand. In addition, the pristine and invigorating aura of the snow-covered wilderness reinforces the pleasure to be experienced when eating this hot cereal.

Although we see a tranquil, unspoiled setting, the Cream of Wheat crate and its commercial label is a reminder of human activity and the encroachment of civilization and industrial growth. While we cannot be sure if the trees here have been felled by natural disaster or by human exploit, Goodwin provocatively juxtaposes the wooden crateóa by-product of the lumber industryówith the adjacent tree stump. Perhaps it is a commentary on the possessive attitude people have toward natural resources and the human desire to domesticate not only the environment but animals as well. Today, from our late-20th-century vantage point, we lament the consequences of such activities as we struggle to preserve our vanishing wilderness areas and endangered wildlife.

Every hand painted oil painting in this fine art series is finished on artist-grade canvas and checked against the original before it leaves the studio.

100% Hand Painted on Canvas

Each canvas is painted entirely by hand with professional oil paints on artist-grade cotton canvas. No printing, giclée, or digital imaging is used at any stage, so the surface keeps the slight relief and color variation of real brushwork.

Specifications & What You Receive

• Every fine art canvas is hand painted in oils; no mechanical or digital reproduction at any stage.
• Comes with a 2-inch unpainted margin on every side, ready for stretcher bars or a frame.
• Studio-direct pricing and worldwide shipping on every fine art oil painting order.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 24 in, 24 X 36 in, 30 X 40 in, 36 X 48 in, 48 X 72 in.
• Made-to-measure options are available for this fine art canvas.
• Multiple low-cost carriers available, including DHL, UPS, FedEx and USPS.
• We stretch your canvas onto wooden bars at no extra charge, and can arrange custom framing.
• A digital photo of your finished painting is emailed for approval before shipment.

Styling & Placement

This fine art oil painting wall decor is equally at home in a residence, a boutique hotel, or a professional office. Its elegant character makes it a safe, distinctive gift for anyone furnishing a dining room.

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