251

Bob Kuhn (1920-2007), Spooked, 1984
Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 18 3/8
Framed/base Dimensions: 20 3/4 x 24 3/4 x 1 3/8
Signature: signed and dated lower left: Kuhn 84
verso: signed

acrylic on board
14 1/2 x 18 3/8 in.

  • Provenance: From a Private Collection
  • Literature: Tom Davis, Patrons Without Peer: The McCloy Collection, Collectors Covey, Dallas, TX, 2009, illus. p. 98
    Sporting Classics Magazine, July/August 2013, cover illustration
  • Notes:

    Spooked portrays a pair of white-tailed deer, their bodies taut with adrenaline as they leap through an open, sunlit field bordered by dense brush. The buck in the foreground, with its tail raised in alarm and powerful muscles flexed mid-stride, becomes the undisputed focal point. Kuhn’s attention to anatomical detail—the elegant proportions of the deer, the texture of their fur, and the dynamic twist of the animal’s body—is true to life, the result of countless hours of field observation.

    The setting is skillfully rendered with warm earth tones and wispy grasses that transition into a thicket of brush and spiky yucca plants. The environment not only grounds the scene in realism but also heightens the feeling of suddenness; the deer seem to burst from the cover of the brush, startled by an unseen danger. The sky, with its painterly clouds and clear blue expanse, lends a sense of openness but also unpredictability.

    What sets Spooked apart is not only its fidelity to nature but its invocation of a narrative moment. The viewer is invited to imagine what has startled the deer, to feel the instant rush of fear and flight. In this way, Kuhn goes beyond animal portraiture to communicate a universal drama—the tension between vigilance and vulnerability, predator and prey, calm and chaos.

  • Condition: The painting appears to be in very good condition. The painting was viewed under blacklight and does not show any indication of inpainting. The frame appears to be in very good condition with a hairline miter split at the upper left.

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September 13, 2025 10:00 AM MDT
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