1901.6
Lion Cubs
Artist
Rosa Bonheur
(Bordeaux, France, 1822 - 1899, Thomery, France)
Title
Lion Cubs
Creation Date
n.d.
Century
19th century
Dimensions
25 in. x 31 1/4 in. (63.5 cm x 79.4 cm)
Object Type
painting
Creation Place
Europe, France
Medium and Support
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Gift of the Misses Harriet Sarah and Mary Sophia Walker
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1901.6
The Walker sisters received this painting of two lion cubs from their friend Anna Klumpke, who had inherited artist Rosa Bonheur’s estate after her death in 1899. The Walker sisters had previously visited the renowned animal painter’s studio in France and requested a copy of one of her famous horse studies, but Bonheur died before the order was fulfilled. Klumpke, a portrait artist in Boston, had moved to Paris to study with Bonheur and became her close companion. A friend of Mary Sophia Walker’s since painting her portrait in the 1890s, Klumpke instead sent this painting as well as a pastel portrait she had drawn of Bonheur from life.
Object Description
two seated lion cubs facing forward; left cub is looking left, front paws firmly on ground; second cub emerges from behind with paw raised