Tim Musso Wins the 2024 Bull-Bransom Award for Chasing the Sun

The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) is pleased to announce that Tim Musso has been selected as the 2024 Bull-Bransom Award winner for his illustrations in Chasing the Sun, also authored by Musso. In this luminous work, Musso charts the migratory path of an Arctic tern family with intricately designed woodcut illustrations that propel the viewer along as a partner on a most incredible journey.

Musso is an artist and naturalist who exhibits his work internationally. The themes of his artwork are inspired by remote cross-country backpacking trips around the world. It was on one of these trips in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that he first encountered the Arctic tern. “As I floated down the Kongakut River a single bird flew up the river just 20 feet above the water. The delicate yet powerful and confident motion of this bird as it flapped its wings made a huge impression on me. At the time I did not know what type of bird this was, however I felt that this bird was more powerful than all of the grizzlies, caribou, dall sheep, and muskoxen that I also saw on the trip,” says Musso. His fascination with nature, innate curiosity, and preferred medium of relief printing coalesced in the creation Chasing the Sun, his first picture book.

The Bull-Bransom Award is given annually by the National Museum of Wildlife Art to recognize excellence in the field of children’s book illustration with a focus on nature and wildlife. The award is named after artists Charles Livingston Bull and Paul Bransom, who were among the first and finest American artist-illustrators to specialize in wildlife subjects and who are both represented in NMWA’s permanent collection. Both had a tremendous impact on younger artists and illustrated numerous children’s books. Museum Trustee Emerita and Bull-Bransom Award Founder, Lynn Friess started this annual award in 2010. Friess will present Musso with his award at the Jackson Hole Book Festival at 3 p.m. on October 26, 2024. The public is invited to attend.

Musso will also participate in programming with local school groups and lead a Make it Wild class at the Museum on October 23, 2024. During the Make it Wild class Musso will demonstrate different carving and printing techniques using rubber blocks and ink. Students can either sketch their own design or use a transfer before carving into their blocks. By the end of the class, each student will have a set of prints to take home. Registration is $50 per person and limited to the first 20 registrants.

The Bull-Bransom award is determined by a jury overseen by NMWA’s curatorial department. “It is incredible that Musso chose such an elaborate art form to illustrate a children’s book. These illustrations are remarkable; they are clear and easy for younger readers to digest, and yet so intricate that they will surely captivate adult audiences too,” says Associate Curator of Art, Dr. Kennis Forte. “The subtle modulations of color and line carry the emotion of the story as we follow our Arctic tern through calm skies and stormy seas. Musso’s expert use of line also creates clear textural distinctions between the craggy face of a glacier and the smooth surface of an iceberg, between soft fluffy clouds and ominous waterspouts, and between the sleek bodies of ocean dwellers and the dark waters they inhabit.”

In discussing his award-winning illustrations, Musso says, “As a visual artist first, I conceived of the story entirely visually. After sketching a ‘year in the life’ of the bird in a series of 16 images I wrote the story. This is an unusual approach, because usually stories are written first.” Chasing the Sun was also awarded the 2024 Riverby Award. Recent exhibits of Musso’s work have taken place at the Missoula Art Museum in Missoula Montana in 2022, the Wonzimer Gallery in Los Angeles in 2021, and the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair in Sydney, Australia in 2019. His art is among permanent collections of the Fort Wayne Art Museum in Indiana, the Zuckerman Museum of Art in Georgia, and Montana’s Missoula Art Museum.