David Shepherd (artist)
A British painter whose majestic wildlife canvases funded a lifelong, passionate crusade to protect the animals he so vividly portrayed.
1931–2017 (age 86)·British artist·Birthday: April 25·The Silent Generation
Biography
David Shepherd began his artistic life wanting to paint steam trains and aircraft, but a fateful trip to Kenya in 1960 redirected his brush toward wildlife. His photorealistic, often dramatic paintings of elephants, tigers, and rhinos found an enormous audience, making him one of the late 20th century's most commercially successful artists. Shepherd, however, was never content with mere decoration. He leveraged his fame and fortune with entrepreneurial zeal, founding the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation in 1984. The organization became a direct funding pipeline, channeling millions from print sales and originals into anti-poaching patrols, habitat preservation, and conservation projects across Africa and Asia. His art was the engine, but his true legacy is the tangible protection it bought for endangered species, making him a uniquely effective bridge between the art world and the frontline of conservation.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
David was born in 1931, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1931
#1 Movie
Frankenstein
Best Picture
Cimarron
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1931Born
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1936Started school
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1944Became a teenager
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1947Could drive
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1949Could vote
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Turned 21
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1961Turned 30
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1971Turned 40
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 50
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 60
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 70
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 80
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2017Died at 86
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
Key Achievements
- Founded the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, which has raised millions for conservation projects.
- Awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to wildlife conservation.
- His painting 'Tiger Fire' sold for a record sum for a living wildlife artist at the time.
- Successfully campaigned to save a herd of elephants from culling in Zambia in the 1990s.
Did You Know?
He failed his art school entrance exam and was told by a recruiter he had no future as an artist.
Shepherd was also a passionate painter of steam locomotives and aviation subjects.
He once traded a painting for a World War II-era Spitfire airplane, which he then learned to fly.
His first major conservation success was raising funds to provide a Land Rover for an anti-poaching unit in Kenya.
“Every time I put brush to canvas, I am fighting for the survival of these magnificent animals.”
