The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco)

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco), ca. 1930, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.198
Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco), ca. 1930, oil on fiberboard, 29 7⁄8 x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.198
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Artwork Details

Title
The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco)
Artist
Date
ca. 1930
Location
Dimensions
29 7⁄8 x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on fiberboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Religion — New Testament — Good Shepherd
  • Landscape — mountain — Atlas Mountains
  • Landscape — Morocco
  • Occupation — farm — shepherd
  • Animal — sheep
Object Number
1983.95.198
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.198

Artwork Description

In 1912, Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Morocco to see the Atlas Mountains. In this painting he downplayed the story in favor of the impressive landscape itself. Tanner’s son Jesse remembered that The Good Shepherd was his father’s favorite subject. The artist believed that “God needs us to help fight with him against evil and we need God to guide us” (Jesse Tanner in Mathews, Henry Ossawa Tanner, American Artist, 1969).