Banovich

10/17/2026

IN THE COMPANY OF MASTERS | A DISTINCTION WITH A REMARKABLE HISTORY

Some achievements are measured in awards. Others are measured in the company they place us among.

We are delighted to celebrate an extraordinary milestone in the career of internationally acclaimed wildlife artist John Banovich, who has received his fifth Award of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists, earning the prestigious distinction of Master Signature Member, the Society’s highest level of recognition.

It is an honor made all the more meaningful by the extraordinary artistic legacy behind it.

The Society’s story began in New York in the 1950s, when artists gathered to study and paint wildlife at the Bronx Zoo. What began as a shared passion for the natural world evolved into an institution whose history became intertwined with celebrated artists including Carl Rungius, William R. Leigh, and John Clymer, and distinguished institutions such as the New York Zoological Society and the Salmagundi Club.

Today, John joins an esteemed group of Master Signature Members, including legendary wildlife artists Robert Bateman and Bob Kuhn.

To stand among these artists is to become part of something greater than an individual career. It is to contribute to a legacy of seeing, understanding, and interpreting the natural world through art.

For John, that connection has always extended beyond the canvas.

His work invites us into the lives of wild animals, encouraging us not merely to admire their beauty, but to consider their place in a world we share and our responsibility to protect it.

His 2026 painting, Shared Waters, captures this philosophy beautifully. Inspired by Botswana’s seasonal floods, it reflects a moment of coexistence, where the largest and smallest creatures are united by their dependence on water.

It is a reminder that the natural world is not simply something we observe. We are part of it.

As we celebrate this remarkable recognition, we also celebrate the enduring power of wildlife art to inspire curiosity, deepen understanding, and connect generations to the extraordinary natural world.

Congratulations, John. An exceptional achievement and a well-deserved place in the company of masters.

Read the full story, In the Company of Masters, and discover the history behind this prestigious distinction:

🔗 https://www.wildscapestravel.com/blog/in-the-company-of-masters

Wildscapes Travel

After receiving his fifth Award of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists, John Banovich joins its Master Signature Members, alongside artists such as Robert Bateman and Bob Kuhn. Discover the Society’s New York history and the story behind John’s painting Shared Waters.

10/13/2026

His tusks nearly touched the ground.

His name was Craig.

For decades, this extraordinary elephant moved across the Amboseli ecosystem, one of Africa’s increasingly rare great tuskers.

His tusks were unmistakable - long, sweeping and reaching almost to the ground.

But when I painted Craig, I wasn’t interested in simply capturing his size.

I wanted to capture his presence.

There was something about an elephant that had lived so long and moved so freely through this landscape that he seemed to have become part of it.

Craig: Memory of an Icon was painted as both a portrait and a tribute, not to power or dominance, but to the quiet presence of an extraordinary individual and what elephants like Craig represent.

Some animals become more than subjects.

They become part of the story of a place.

Craig: Memory of an Icon
Oil on Belgian linen
16 × 20 in.

10/12/2026

When Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Oil on Belgian linen
20” × 24”

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I want to recognize the Indigenous communities around the world whose knowledge, traditions, and relationships with the natural world continue to inspire us.

During my travels in East Africa, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with the Hadzabe people of northern Tanzania, one of the world’s few remaining communities that continue to practice a traditional hunter-gatherer way of life.

Their extraordinary skill with a bow is more than a means of survival. It represents generations of knowledge passed down through experience, observation, and a deep understanding of the land and its wildlife.

“When Actions Speak Louder Than Words” captures a moment among Hadzabe hunters, whose traditions remind us of the importance of preserving not only wild places, but the cultures and knowledge of the people who have lived alongside them for generations.

Today, we honor Indigenous peoples everywhere and the invaluable role they play in protecting our planet’s cultural and natural heritage.

10/12/2026

When Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Oil on Belgian linen
20” × 24”

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I want to recognize the Indigenous communities around the world whose knowledge, traditions, and relationships with the natural world continue to inspire us.

During my travels in East Africa, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with the Hadzabe people of northern Tanzania, one of the world’s few remaining communities that continue to practice a traditional hunter-gatherer way of life.

Their extraordinary skill with a bow is more than a means of survival. It represents generations of knowledge passed down through experience, observation, and a deep understanding of the land and its wildlife.

When Actions Speak Louder Than Words captures a moment among Hadzabe hunters, whose traditions remind us of the importance of preserving not only wild places, but the cultures and knowledge of the people who have lived alongside them for generations.

Today, we honor Indigenous peoples everywhere and the invaluable role they play in protecting our planet’s cultural and natural heritage.

10/10/2026

For decades, safari has been about reconnecting me to wildlife and wild places, and bringing those experiences home through my paintings.

But today, it means something more.

It means family.

Each year I returned to Africa, with my family, or close friends and their families. And after a lifetime of safaris, I still find myself experiencing Africa in an entirely new way - through their eyes.

There is an extraordinary joy in watching the people you love fall under Africa’s spell.

Sharing the first light of morning in the bush. Watching elephants move silently across the landscape. Sitting together around a fire beneath an impossibly large African sky. Putting away the phones, the schedules and the noise of everyday life, and simply being present.

It reminded me that a safari isn’t really about how many animals you see.

It’s about connection.

To the wild.
To each other.
And, perhaps most importantly, back to ourselves.

As my daughters now understand, safari is not simply a place you go.

It is a state of mind.

A space where we disconnect from everything that demands our attention and reawaken to what actually deserves it.

And when a safari is designed well, something unexpected happens along the way:

“You may travel halfway around the world to encounter Africa’s wildest creatures… and come face to face with yourself.” - John Banovich

10/08/2026

Four Brothers
Oil on Belgian linen
48” × 72”

I painted these four the way I found them. Not hunting, not moving, just still. Four brothers sharing one patch of shade at the edge of the delta, in that hour when the light hasn’t decided yet if it’s morning or evening.

Elands watching from the grass beyond them, keeping their distance, but the lions don’t seem to notice or care. That’s the thing about kings, they don’t have to chase to prove it. The stillness is the point.

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Available as a Limited Edition Giclée Canvas

Gallery Edition | 25” × 40”
Studio Edition | 44” × 68”

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10/08/2026

Approaching Maasai
Limited Edition Giclée Canvas
Gallery Edition - 33" x 24"

No one likes having their afternoon cat nap interrupted.

This male leopard has been disturbed by something in the distance. Maasai and their cattle are fast approaching, a common story on a continent of over one billion people. There are fewer and fewer places for wild animals to find refuge, and human animal conflict has escalated to unprecedented levels. In the end, the animal almost always loses.

I painted this cat as if he is being watched from below. It is an unusual position to paint, but I wanted to capture a moment where the viewer feels almost invisible to him, while his attention remains fixed somewhere in the distance.

A quiet moment, but one that speaks to a much larger story unfolding across Africa.

10/05/2026

There are few animals I find more compelling to paint than the mountain gorilla.

To sit quietly among them in the forests of Central Africa is to recognize something remarkably familiar. Their expressions, their hands, their family bonds and the quiet intelligence behind their eyes.

That is what I try to capture at the easel. Not simply the anatomy, but the individual. The presence and personality of an animal looking back at you.

10/03/2026

Back at the easel with lions.

I have spent much of my life studying and painting lions, yet they continue to reveal something new every time I return to them. The relationships within a pride are complex. There is power and tension, but also tremendous intimacy and trust.

That is what I wanted to capture here. A quiet moment between a male and female, while the rest of the African bush carries on around them. Sometimes the most compelling moments in nature are the quiet ones.

10/01/2026

Back at the easel with lions.⁠
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I have spent much of my life studying and painting lions, yet they continue to reveal something new every time I return to them. The relationships within a pride are complex. There is power and tension, but also tremendous intimacy and trust.⁠
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That is what I wanted to capture here. A quiet moment between a male and female, while the rest of the African bush carries on around them. Sometimes the most compelling moments in nature are the quiet ones.⁠
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Have you ever encountered an animal that completely changed the way you thought about its species?⁠
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