Henry Merwin Shrady was born in New York City in 1871. The son of a prominent physician, Shrady studied law at Columbia University but was unable to complete his degree due to illness. He studied animal anatomy as an undergraduate and sketched animals at the Bronx Zoo as a hobby; when he began sculpting, he was largely self-taught.

Bull Moose is notable for its anatomical accuracy: the proportions, musculature, and texture of the fur and paddles are a testament to the depth of Shrady’s anatomical studies. Remarkably, Bull Moose was one of Shrady’s first sculptures, cast in 1900 along with Monarch of the Plains and The Empty Saddle. Shrady would go on to create eight monumental animal sculptures for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

Though most well-known for the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, one of the most significant monuments in Washington DC, Shrady’s animal sculptures continue to be sought-after for their artistic excellence. Casts of Bull Moose are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma.