Save the Whales
Artist
Susan Bright Lautmann Hertel
(1930 - 1992)
Date1980s
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions44 x 70 in. (111.8 x 177.8 cm)
Framed (Brown, wired, not glazed): 45 1/4 x 71 x 1 1/8 in. (114.9 x 180.3 x 2.9 cm)
Framed (Brown, wired, not glazed): 45 1/4 x 71 x 1 1/8 in. (114.9 x 180.3 x 2.9 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of the Hilbert Collection
Object number2019.224
DescriptionIn this quietly evocative painting, Susan Hertel addresses a major environmental movement of the late twentieth century through an intimate, domestic lens. The only explicit reference to activism appears in the young man’s T-shirt—printed with the phrase “Save the Whales”—a subtle but pointed reminder of the widespread public outcry during the 1970s and 1980s over aggressive commercial whaling. Rather than dramatizing protest, Hertel embeds the message within an everyday scene: a contemplative figure in the foreground, an older woman seated behind him, and the presence of a cat and dog suggesting a shared affection for animals and the natural world. The rural setting, likely inspired by Hertel’s own ranch environment, reinforces a sense of stewardship and personal connection to living creatures.
Hertel was a graduate of Scripps College, where she studied with Millard Sheets and Henry Lee McFee, and she later entered a long professional partnership with Sheets through his design studio. Over more than two decades, she collaborated with the Sheets Studio on major public art programs for Home Savings banks throughout the western United States, contributing to murals and architectural artworks seen by millions. Alongside this large-scale work, Hertel maintained a robust studio practice, creating paintings that often blend narrative warmth with broader social and environmental concerns.
On View
Not on viewCollections
