Lions in the Desert

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

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Artwork Details

Title: Lions in the Desert
Artist: Henry Ossawa Tanner
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: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas mounted on plywood
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Animal — lion
Landscape — desert
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.