Robert Winthrop Chanler lived big, painted big, loved big and was just plain big, 6-foot-4, 200-plus pounds, with a giant crown of shaggy hair. Despite all that, he remains an elusive figure among New York artists of the early 20th century. He is known for his serene fauvist-style paintings and fantastical scenes of forest and marine wildlife, but many of his works are lost; some are documented only through old photographs. 

A conference this month at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, the setting of one of his most outlandish masterworks, may answer some questions.