San Francisco Zoo
Sloat and The Great Highway
Lakeside
Cougar III by Gwynn Murrill
Gwynn Murrill is a Los Angeles based artist who received her MFA from UCLA in 1972. Murrill has three sculptures at the San Francisco Zoo. Cougar III and Tiger 2 are at the front entryway and Hawk V is located at the Koret Animal Resource Center.
Tiger 2
Gwynn Murrill has always worked with animals as her subject matter. Stripped of surface detail the sculptures are almost abstract in form.
Hawk V
The Arts Commission purchased Hawk V for $29,000. Tiger 2 was purchased for $85,000, and Cougar III for $65,000. All three sculptures were purchased with funds generated by the City’s percent-for-art program, which allocates 2% of capital projects for art enrichment.
While I think that all three of these sculptures are lovely, and truly adored by children that visit the zoo, I am not sure why Ms. Merrill (while a Californian, not a San Franciscan) has been given the exclusive commissions for the bronzes in the zoo. There are many bronzes sitting throughout the zoo and they are every bit as spectacular, including two by local Doctor Burt Brent.