Lions in the Desert

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Lions in the Desert, ca. 1897-1900, oil on canvas mounted on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.184
Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, Lions in the Desert, ca. 1897-1900, oil on canvas mounted on plywood, 15 1⁄2 x 29 3⁄8 in. (39.5 x 74.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.184
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Lions in the Desert
Artist
Date
ca. 1897-1900
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 1⁄2 x 29 3⁄8 in. (39.5 x 74.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas mounted on plywood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — desert
  • Animal — lion
Object Number
1983.95.184
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.184

Artwork Description

Henry Ossawa Tanner grew up in a religious home and his family took special pride in the history of the biblical Hamatic races of African origin (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991). It is possible that he regarded the lion as a symbol of his African heritage. Tanner learned to draw lions from trips to the zoo in Philadelphia, where he grew up and attended art school. While in Paris in 1891, he sketched them at the Jardin des Plantes and took an animal anatomy course at the natural history museum. Tanner painted Lions in the Desert during one of his visits to the Middle East, which he described as a barren landscape. He did not see actual lions there, but later added them to the painting in his studio.