What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Banovich

ART | TRAVEL | PHILANTHROPY - Moving, revealing and inspiring you to seek a deeper understanding.
(1)

John Banovich is known internationally for his large, dramatic portrayals of iconic wildlife. His life-sized elephant painting “Once Upon A Time” drew global attention to ivory poaching and his deep knowledge of wildlife and unwavering commitment to conservation continues to raise awareness about imperiled species. Under the umbrella of his Banovich Wildscapes Foundation, money generated through a

rtwork sales has been channeled back into support efforts that promote habitat protection, science-based wildlife management and sustainable tourism. Banovich's work is in important museum, corporate and private collections and has appeared in numerous prestigious venues including the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Wildlife Experience Art Museum, Salmagundi Club, Museum of the Southwest, Natural History Museum, Gilcrease Museum, traveling exhibitions sponsored by the Society of Animal Artists, Artists for Conservation and showcases hosted by Safari Club International and Dallas Safari Club. In the press, Banovich’s work has been showcased on Forbes, CBS Entertainment Tonight, The Outdoor Channel, The Great American Country Channel, Orion Entertainment, PBS, Southwest Art Magazine, Western Art Collector Magazine, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Sporting Classics, Western Art & Architecture, and most recently NBC has written about his dedication to his conservation work and named him an NBC Cause Celebrity.

09/02/2026

John Banovich
The Offensive Line & The Defensive Line
Oil on Belgian Linen
30h × 90w in each

Sometimes an idea comes from an unexpected place.

Years ago, I remembered what it felt like lining up against someone bigger than me on the football field. That memory came rushing back while watching a coalition of young male lions face off with a herd of Cape buffalo on safari. They stood only yards apart, studying one another, waiting for the smallest advantage.

The lions were strong, confident, and impatient. Most were likely brothers, not yet old enough to hold a pride of their own. The buffalo answered with experience, discipline, and sheer power. Bulls weighing close to a ton stood shoulder to shoulder, making it clear they would not give ground easily.

Those moments became The Offensive Line and The Defensive Line. The titles came from football, but the lesson came from Africa. Like a great offensive line, the young lions relied on teamwork, confidence, and timing. The buffalo formed an equally formidable defensive line, standing shoulder to shoulder with the strength and discipline to repel almost any attack.

If you look closely, you’ll also find thirteen yellow-billed oxpeckers scattered throughout the paintings. They’re the only spectators to one of nature’s greatest showdowns.

08/31/2026

John Banovich
Kwitonda
Oil on Belgian linen
66¼h × 120w inches

Kwitonda is a portrait of an iconic gorilla family.

I wanted this painting to be about more than a single silverback.

The Kwitonda group was led by Karevuro, Kigoma and Lisanga, but every member of the family played a role. The mothers, the youngsters, the juveniles climbing through the bamboo, the quiet interactions that make a gorilla family what it is.

When you’re fortunate enough to spend time with mountain gorillas, you quickly realize you’re not watching individual animals. You’re watching a family. Every glance, every movement and every interaction has meaning. That was the experience I wanted to bring to the canvas.

The painting hangs today at Singita Kwitonda Lodge on the edge of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, where the forest that inspired it is only a short walk away.

08/26/2026

Every painting starts out a little out of focus.

In the beginning there’s only an impression. You know there’s something there, but you haven’t found it yet. The work is simply staying with it long enough for the painting to reveal itself.

Each session narrows the gap between what you imagined and what ends up on the canvas. Edges sharpen. Light finds its place. The personality of the animal begins to emerge.

That moment when a painting starts looking back at you is when you know you’re getting close.

08/24/2026

Spending time with elephants has taught me that the greatest lessons are rarely dramatic.

It’s the quiet moments that stay with you. The subtle shift of an ear. A glance. The way an old bull carries himself. Details that seem insignificant until you’ve watched them for hours.

Those experiences deepen your understanding in ways no photograph ever can. They remind you that the more intimately you know a subject, the more honestly you can portray it.

Photo Credit: Salty Zebra

08/19/2026

The warmth of Africa isn’t added at the end of a painting. It begins with the first layer. Allowing those earth tones to remain visible beneath the final brushwork gives the canvas a quiet glow, echoing the heat and light of the African plains.

08/17/2026

John Banovich
Silent Storytellers
Oil on Belgian linen
54h × 110w in

Montana has always been a place where wilderness and history seem to exist side by side. There are landscapes where the past never feels very far away, and the bison are part of that memory.

Watching a herd move through fresh snow, it’s easy to understand why they became such enduring symbols of the American West. There is power in them, but there is also restraint, wisdom, and an ancient rhythm that has carried on for thousands of years.

Silent Storytellers is about that feeling. The sense that these animals still carry echoes of an older world, reminding us that some of the greatest stories are spoken without words.

08/14/2026

John Banovich
The Big Five Collection
Oil on Belgian linen

The Big Five have become symbols of Africa, but I never wanted to paint them simply because they were famous.

What interested me was the individual character each one carries. The quiet confidence of an elephant. The suspicion in a leopard’s stare. The unshakable resolve of a Cape buffalo. The ancient armor of a rhino. The authority of a lion.

By isolating each animal in a close, intimate portrait, the distractions fall away. You’re left with nothing but the encounter.

Inspired by the timeless simplicity of Edward S. Curtis’ portraits, I wanted this collection to feel less like five wildlife paintings and more like five personalities sharing the same room. Together they become a conversation about power, dignity, and the remarkable diversity of Africa’s most iconic animals.

08/12/2026

Before a painting has color, it has pages like these.

Field sketches aren’t meant to be finished. They’re quick notes that capture the things a camera rarely does: the rhythm of an elephant’s stride, the weight of a buffalo’s shoulders, the way an animal moves through its environment. They’re about movement, proportion, atmosphere and memory.

Time in the field changes the work. You begin to understand not just what an animal looks like, but how it behaves. The landscape, the weather, the people who know these places intimately, all become part of the painting long before the first brushstroke.

Those rough pencil lines are where many of my paintings begin. Not in the studio, but out in the field where observation comes first, and the painting follows.

08/11/2026

World Lion Day is a chance to celebrate an animal that has shaped so much of my life. For more than three decades, lions have been at the heart of my work, taking me across Africa and continually deepening my respect for the wild places they inhabit. No other animal has challenged, inspired and fascinated me quite like the African lion.

Fearsome Foursome II
Oil on Belgian linen
50h × 75w in

The encounter behind Fearsome Foursome II was extraordinary. Four male lions, united as a powerful coalition, had brought down a giraffe beside a waterhole. I entered the water to photograph them from their level, watching this formidable group claim their place at the top of the food chain.

What struck me was the contrast within the scene. There was tremendous power and brutality, but also cooperation, loyalty and the complex social bonds that have fascinated me about lions for so many years.

In Africa, survival is never guaranteed. Even for the lion. Every day is part of an ancient cycle of life and death, and witnessing it firsthand reminds me why preserving these animals and the landscapes that sustain them matters so deeply.

On World Lion Day, I celebrate the King of Beasts and hope that his roar will continue to be heard across wild Africa for generations to come.

05/09/2026

A Tribute to Ted Turner.

I first met Ted Turner through my good friend and former superintendent of Yellowstone National Park Mike Finley and over the years Ted became someone I deeply admired - not only as a giant in business and a media pioneer, but as one of the greatest conservation leaders this country has ever known.

This photograph was taken when Ted came to visit me during my Safari Club International exhibition years ago. I had introduced him to the Speaker of the House Ole Francis Kaparo whom i was hosting to the USA to review the North American Wildlife Model as Kenya was in the process of overhauling their wildlife policy. We talked africa, CNN and fun stories about their time in africa as we had designed the Safari Adventure for the Turner Foundation’s Board which included all of Teds family and Mike Finely.

Through Ted’s generosity, I was invited to his legendary Flying D Ranch in Montana, home to one of America’s great bison herds. Those experiences fundamentally shaped me as an artist. As a realist and storyteller, you need close intimate encounters to truly understand the character of an animal - and Ted and his amazing ranch manager Danny Johnson, gave me that opportunity to know Bison like few people ever had.

Many of my bison paintings were born from those research trips, including the Large commission having in the Warren Miller Lodge at the Yellowstone Club titled "Cold Air, Deep Powder”, and later "Under a Wolf Moon” now hanging in a private Castle in Texas.

Ted understood something many people never fully grasp: conservation begins with acquiring the land and then with stewardship and giving the land what it needs thrive. This gives wildlife space and a fighting chance. At one point the largest private landowner in America, he used that responsibility to protect wild places and iconic species like the American bison.

I can categorically say Ted Turner made me a better painter of the American West!

He was a maverick, a visionary, and one of the best friends the natural world could ever have.

We’ll miss you, Ted… thank you for changing the world for the better and we’ll see you on the high ground.

John Banovich

Address

2 Pine Creek Road
Livingston, MT
59047

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

8884863160

Website

https://johnbanovich.com/, https://www.wildscapesfoundation.org/, https://www.wildscapestravel.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Banovich posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Banovich:

Want your museum to be the top-listed Museum in Livingston?