An unprecedented display of nature will be on exhibit at Harrison Galleries for December First Friday in downtown Tuscaloosa. The two-story art gallery will feature a Tribute to Basil 
Ede downstairs and upstairs a selection of colored illustrations of fishes native to the state of Alabama illustrated by Joseph Tomelleri will be on show. The two exhibitions will be up from December 2 through December 18, 2016.
Gallery owner Jim Harrison has gathered a selection of Basil Ede’s original sketches and paintings from private collections around Tuscaloosa, several previously unseen till now. Ede, who passed away in September, is renowned for his “The Wild Birds of America” series, commissioned by Tuscaloosa businessman and art collector Jack Warner. Harrison said the exhibition will include some of Ede’s famous birds, but will also showcase other representational works as well as some abstractions, in gouache, watercolors and oils.
“Many of these pieces have never been seen by anyone except the owners,” said Harrison.
Upstairs in the gallery, more than 50 colored illustrations of fishes native to the state of Alabama will also be on display. The prints, part of the collection of the UA College of Arts and Sciences, are from Fishes of Alabama (Smithsonian Books) which features Joseph R. Tomelleri’s illustrations and detailed species information written by Herbert T. Boschung Jr., professor emeritus of biology at The University of Alabama, and Richard L. Mayden, endowed chair of natural sciences and chair of the department of biology at St. Louis University and a former faculty member in UA’s Department of Biological Sciences. Pulitzer Prize winner and College of Arts and Sciences alumnus Edward O. Wilson, an internationally renowned biologist, theorist and naturalist, wrote the book’s forward. Dr. Boschung passed away in February of 2015.
This will be the second exhibition of the illustrations at Harrison Galleries. Harrison noted, “We hosted the signing for Dr. Boschung when the book was released back in 2004.”
Harrison Galleries participates in Tuscaloosa’s monthly First Friday openings, featuring art exhibitions, a jazz band and refreshments. First Friday takes place on the first Friday of the month among several participating galleries and businesses in downtown Tuscaloosa.
Harrison Galleries is located at 2315 University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa and is open Monday through Friday, 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. and by appointment. Please call (205) 464-0054 to check for updates on exhibitions.
Contact: Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, UA Department of Art and Art History, (205) 348-1893 or rachel.dobson@ua.edu
Source: Jim Harrison III, Harrison Galleries, (205) 464-0054 or 2315 University Boulevard, Tuscaloosa