Arctic Hare

c. 1841

John James Audubon

Artist, American, 1785 - 1851

Two rabbits, one white and one gray, lie on a grassy hill in this horizontal painting on paper. On our left, the white rabbit rests so its front paws face us, and it looks slightly off to our left. To our right, the gray rabbit takes up most of the picture with its head near the white rabbit and its tail nearly touching the right edge of the paper. Tiny pen and graphite strokes make up the individual hairs of the rabbits' fur and whiskers. The ground close to us is olive and earth green. Mountains are frosty teal-green in the distance under lavender-gray clouds streaking up and to our left against a blue sky. Two birds fly in the deep distance. Tiny writing in black ink in the top left corner spells "Leach" in the top left corner. A number 1 appears next to the gray rabbit’s head and a number 2 next to the white.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and black ink and graphite with watercolor and oil paint on paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of E.J.L. Hallstrom

  • Dimensions

    overall: 61 x 86.9 cm (24 x 34 3/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1951.9.10

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [1785-1851]; probably by inheritance to his son, John Woodhouse Audubon [1812-1862], Salem, New York; probably John Woodhouse Audubon's second wife, Caroline Hall Audubon [1811-1899], Salem, New York; probably their son, William Bakewell Audubon [1847-1932], Australia; by inheritance to his son, Leonard Benjamin Audubon [1888-1951], Sydney, Australia; sold 1950 to E.J.L. Hallstrom [1886-1970], Sydney, Australia; gift 1951 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1951

  • Audubon as an Animal Painter [Third Audubon Centennial Exhibition], National Audubon Society, New York, 1951, no. 17, as "Polar Hare" (Arctic), by John James Audubon.

  • Audubon Paintings and Prints from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1951.

1954

  • [John James Audubon exhibition for the benefit of the Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine], Kennedy Galleries, New York, 1954.

1967

  • National Gallery Loan Exhibition, Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1967, no. 8.

1981

  • Two Hundred Years of American Paintings, 1700-1900, Inaugural Exhibition, The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia, 1981, no. 8.

Bibliography

1965

  • Munson-Williams-Proctor & P. Morgan Lib., AUDUBON WC & DRWGS., Utica, NY?: 1965, 89.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 10, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 21, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 394, no. 563, color repro.

2000

  • Boehme, Sarah E. John James Audubon in the West: The Last Expedition, Mammals of North America. New York, 2000: 160, repro.

Inscriptions

upper left in black ink: Leach; to the right of the earsof the hare, left to right respectively: 2. / 1.

Wikidata ID

Q64582790

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