3-Dec-17 – A stealthy late-night photo shoot on the Chicago Riverwalk last Wednesday featured a fashion model and a gray wolf from Montana, all captured by a world-famous fine-art photographer.

David Yarrow, whose large prints of wildlife sell for tens of thousands of dollars, created a “wintery scene with pretty women and wolves” and that is all he is going to say about the image until it is made public in about one month.

Yarrow attended a fundraising event on November 4 for Chicago Police Foundation, at which he spoke with Superintendent of Police Eddie Johnson about the idea. Johnson later met with Yarrow at Hilton-Asmus Contemporary, a gallery in River North that is currently showing an exhibition of Yarrow’s photographs.

“Saying you’re going to bring wolves in, obviously, raises a few eyebrows,” said Yarrow at the gallery on Friday.

(Left) The wolf arrived in this trailer at about 10:19 p.m. on Wednesday. (Photo obtained from David Yarrow.)

The city’s Department of Fleet & Facility Management and Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events were involved in the planning of the Riverwalk project. Yarrow also ran the idea past Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a filming permit was issued by the city on November 24.

The permit allowed for a truck and 50-foot-long trailer to be parked on Wacker Drive between Wabash Avenue and Michigan Avenue on November 29 and 30.

The shoot with the wolf and model Erica Lawrence happened late at night on November 29. Yarrow says Chicago’s architecture is what attracted him to the Riverwalk but he was concerned he would attract a crowd that would frighten the wolf.

World’s elite art buyers are his customers

In May, at a photography auction at Sotheby’s, one of Yarrow’s prints sold for $75,000. He says “supply and demand” is what drives his prices.

“If you take a picture like that,” he says, pointing to one of his images at the gallery, “I know there will be 12 people around the world that will pay $100,000 for it. But 30 years ago, I sold pictures for 20 bucks and I was excited to be selling pictures for 20 bucks. So, it’s a long journey. But I think providence is very important. Integrity. And to be crass about it, if you get to a stage where you’re at the top of your game, people will want to buy from someone that’s number one at what they do. They don’t want to buy from number 17.”

(Right) David Yarrow in front of his 2015 Wolf of Main Street photograph at Hilton Asmus Gallery in River North on Friday.

Yarrow, age 51, was born in Scotland and currently lives in London. He is also a financier, having founded the London-based hedge fund Clareville Capital in 1995.