Born in Seattle in 1916, Harry Curieux Adamson has studied wildlife and
its habitat for over half a century. While he occasionally paints other
birds and mammals, the emphasis has always been on waterfowl. Whether it
be rippling skeins of snow geese against a blue sky or pink-eared ducks in
Australia’s heartland, the artist’s fascination with these birds has never
left him, as attested by the fact that he has observed one hundred sixteen 
species of ducks and geese in the wild.

Adamson studied under Paul J. Fair, a nationally recognized sculptor and
wildlife photographer. A period of book illustration at the Museum of
Vertebrate Zoology in Berkeley, California also contributed to his early
training.

After serving our country for more than four years in World War II, the
artist began his pursuit of a full-time career in portraying wildfowl in
oil. Gradually his work found wider acceptance and in 1952 a pintail
painting was purchased by the then President of Mexico, Miguel Aleman
Valdez.

Adamson is described by internationally famous wildlife artist David Maass
as “unsurpassed when it comes to portrayals of wildfowl on the wing in
their natural surroundings.” Wildlife artist Owen Gromme says Adamson is
simply “one of the finest waterfowl artists in the world.”

Still painting at age 89, Adamson is perhaps the oldest living wildlife
artist today. Throughout his lengthy career, Adamson has observed, studied
and painted the colorful participants in the massive annual waterfowl
migration. Although best known for his landscapes awash with flocks of
mallards and pintails, on occasion Adamson has painted bighorn sheep,
condors and falcons, and the unusual and colorful tropical birds
encountered during his many trips abroad.

Part of the appeal of Adamson's paintings  is that, "He paints to the
hunter's dream." Although Adamson has never been a hunter himself, many of
his paintings, done from the position of a duck blind, evoke memories in
the outdoors enthusiast, whether they be of an early-morning close-up view
of a flock of mallards or of a stunning landscape experienced. A lover of
nature and the outdoors, Adamson has, over his lifetime, donated paintings
and prints worth close to three million dollars to raise money for
conservation causes. Adamson was a founding member of the Mt. Diablo
Audubon Society.

Adamson's work has frequently been displayed nationally and
internationally in the prestigious “Birds in Art” and “Animals in Art”
exhibitions, and has been shown at the Smithsonian Art Museum, the British
Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, among
others. He was named the first California Waterfowl Association Artist of
the Year and 1979 Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year.