210.299.4499 BUY TICKETS
Logo
Logo
  • About
        • About the Briscoe MuseumDiscover the West on the River Walk
        • Our Mission & Core ValuesWhat the Briscoe stands for
        • San Antonio Public Library PortalChanging lives through information
        • Our BoardMeet our Board of Directors
        • Our StaffMeet our Staff
        • Our CampusView our grounds
        • Briscoe MembershipBecome a Member
        • Press RoomKeep up with the Briscoe
        • Contact UsContact us here
  • Visit
        • Hours & AdmissionHours, admission, and admission specials
        • Parking & DirectionsParking, metered spots, & via bus stops
        • Our CampusView our grounds
        • Tours & Field TripsDocent-led tours for adults and students
        • Hendler Family Museum StoreShop the West
        • Museum GuideMuseum brochure & map
  • Exhibitions
        • Permanent GalleriesArt and artifacts from the American West
        • New Works GalleryNew works to the museum
        • McNutt Sculpture GardenLush public outdoor space
        • Upcoming ExhibitionsA look into the future exhibitions
        • Past ExhibitionsTake a look back at past exhibitions
        • Night of ArtistsThe museum’s signature art event
  • Events & Programs
        • Calendar of EventsView all the events and programs
        • Locals DaysFree admission for Bexar County Residents
        • Beyond the BriscoeBring the West to you
        • Full STEAM AheadMaking the West
        • The Poetry of ArtNational Poetry Month Celebration
        • Night of ArtistsThe museum’s signature art event
  • Support
        • DonateSupport the Briscoe
        • Briscoe MembershipBecome a museum member
        • Hendler Family Museum StoreShop the West
        • VolunteerVolunteer at the Briscoe
        • VenuesRent our venue spaces
  • Overview
  • Become a Member

Overview

ABOUT THOMAS D. MANGELSEN

Renowned American nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen has traveled throughout the natural world for nearly 50 years observing and photographing the Earth’s last great wild places. From polar bears in the Arctic to vast herds of game on the plains of Africa, from the deep jungles of South America to the tigers of India, to images revealing the diversity of wildlife in the American West, Mangelsen has captured rare moments and vast panoramas from all seven continents.

Mangelsen is a critically acclaimed photographer whose honors include being named Conservation Photographer of the Year by Nature’s Best Photography, the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year by North American Nature Photography Association, one of the 100 Most Important People in Photography by American Photo magazine and one of the 40 Most Influential Nature Photographers by Outdoor Photography.

Photo Credit: Sue Cedarholm

Mangelsen’s award winning photographs have been exhibited in major museums including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and collected by thousands around the world through his MANGELSEN®—Images of Nature Galleries. Browse Mangelsen’s entire portfolio.

American nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen has been praised by many as a spiritual descendent of Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter and Edward Weston.

After spending nearly 50 years of traveling to the wildest corners of North America and beyond, Mangelsen has become legendary for producing a body of work that includes truly awe-inspiring landscapes and some of the most recognizable wildlife scenes ever photographed, including many counted among the most important of the modern environmental age. Like those of Adams, Porter and Weston before him, his photographs are coveted by collectors worldwide.

Jane Goodall and Bill Allen, the now retired editor in chief of National Geographic, consider Mangelsen to be one of the most important nature photographers of his generation. “His photographs have impact that stays with you,” Allen says. “They allow viewers to momentarily escape from their busy lives and dwell inside big humbling landscapes. Rather than being mere documentarians in their purpose, they also reveal personalities of wild, sometimes imperiled animals, reminding us that they are creatures of remarkable sentience.”


ABOUT A LIFE IN THE WILD

A LIFE IN THE WILD is an exhibition containing 40 of Mangelsen’s most resonant images—images that take viewers on a journey into the haunts of iconic species whose struggles for survival are metaphorical fulcrums for reflection in the 21st century.

In an age of rampant digital manipulation of imagery and an era in which many nature photographers take shortcuts to amass portfolios by frequenting “game farms”—facilities that rent out wildlife “models” by the hour—Mangelsen’s work stands as a striking and noble counterpoint, Allen says.

Every single image in Mangelsen’s portfolio has been taken in the wild under natural conditions; the result of him waiting for the “picture perfect moment” across decades and often in hostile conditions. Such a body of work can only be achieved by having a heightened sense of animal behavior, an uncanny feel for being able to read changing atmospherics in the environment, and patience.

At a time when digital technology is, notoriously, reprogramming its users to have shorter attention spans, A LIFE IN THE WILD stands as a testament to the rewards that can come to people who slow down their lives and wait for nature’s revelations to happen.

Virtual Tour

A LIFE IN THE WILD showcases Mangelsen’s signature, award-winning photographs of landscape and wildlife in all seven continents. Polar Dance, for example, is a whimsical portrait of polar bears appearing to prance in the Arctic that National Geographic called one of the most important of our time for getting viewers to ponder the consequences of climate change.

The exhibition includes Mangelsen’s Catch of the Day, one of the most widely circulated wildlife photographs in history, showing the exact moment that a spawning salmon, trying to leap over a small waterfall along Alaska’s Brooks River, soars right into the awaiting jaws of a massive brown bear. Catch of the Day was not only a monumental achievement in photography because it occurred before the advent of digital cameras and involves no digital manipulation, but also because thousands of photographers have attempted to emulate it. Like all of the photographs in the exhibition, it sparks conversation.

Photo Credit: Catch of the Day, 1988, © Thomas D. Mangelsen

THOMAS D. MANGELSEN – A LIFE IN THE WILD, Tour Produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C.
Tour updates may be viewed at: Mangelsen.com/museum
Copyright for all photos, Thomas D. Mangelsen, Inc.


Image

BECOME A MEMBER

Help us bring the spirit of the West alive by becoming a Briscoe Partner!
Click here to become a member!

Image

SUPPORT THE MUSEUM

Governor Dolph Briscoe and his wife Janey envisioned a Museum that would preserve the stories and traditions of the American West.

Click here to donate to the Briscoe Western Art Museum.

RENTALS

SUPPORT US

MEMBERSHIP

EVENT CALENDAR

About Us

  • Our Mission
  • Our Board
  • Our Staff
  • Our Campus
  • Employment
  • Contact Us

Exhibitions

  • Permanent Galleries
  • Upcoming Exhibitions
  • Sculpture Garden
  • Night of Artists

Programs

  • Calendar of Events
  • Lil Partners
  • Briscoe Book Club

Visit

  • Hours & Admission
  • Parking & Directions
  • Tours & Field Trips

Hours

Open Thursday through Monday
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Closed to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Open all holidays except Easter Sunday, Battle of Flowers, Thanksgiving, and Christmas

 

Admission

$14 Adults (12+)

$12 Seniors (65+), Retired Military/Veterans, Students *with ID

$8 Military Dependents *with ID

FREE for Children 12 & under and Active Military *with ID

FREE for Members– click here to become a member

FREE Recipients of SNAP, WIC, and MAP receive free admission through Museums for All, a cooperative which encourages families of all backgrounds to visit museums. Simply present an EBT card and a photo ID.

Support Provided By



Sign Up for our Newsletter

    210 W. Market Street
    San Antonio, TX 78205

    T. 210.299.4499
    F. 210.299.4118
    info@briscoemuseum.org

    © 2021 The Briscoe Western Art Museum

    San Antonio Web Design by J 12 Designs

    X