The Old Lion
Datec. 1872
Artist
Abbott Handerson Thayer
American painter, 1849–1921
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions25 1/4 × 36 in. (64.1 × 91.4 cm)
frame: 36 1/4 x 47 1/2 in. (92.1 x 120.7 cm)
frame: 36 1/4 x 47 1/2 in. (92.1 x 120.7 cm)
Credit LineSamuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935
Object number1935-33
On View
On viewCollections
- American Art through 1960 on View
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextAbbott Thayer was amateur naturalist since childhood, and it was his successful turn as an amateur portraitist of family pets that convinced him to pursue a career as an artist. While a student at the National Academy of Design, the artist often used the animals at the Central Park Zoo as models. Thayer became fascinated with the protective coloration of wildlife. Here, a predator’s facial features emerge from a richly-textured background that nearly dissolves the contours of its voluminous mane. [KEG]
Elenore Plaisted Abbott
1911
