Title
Study of dead lion for 'David's first victory'
1868
Artist
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Details
- Other Title
- Study of dead lion (Study for 'David's first victory')
- Date
- 1868
- Media category
- Drawing
- Materials used
- pencil, watercolour on ivory wove paper
- Dimensions
- 17.8 x 25.5 cm sheet
- Signature & date
Signed l.l. corner, pen and brown ink "William Strutt./ ...". Dated bot.c., pen and brown ink "... March 17th 1868.".
- Credit
- Purchased with funds provided by the Gil & Shay Docking Drawing Fund 2003
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 261.2003
- Copyright
- Artist information
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William Strutt
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
This is a preparatory study for the painting 'David's first victory' 1868, in the Gallery's collection. Its subject is from 1 Samuel 17 in the Bible:
'And David said unto Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God'.
Strutt was well known for his studies of lions, made from both living and dead specimens at the London Zoo; the most famous painting made from these drawings is 'Sentinels of empire' 1901 in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.
excerpt from Hendrik Kolenberg, Anne Ryan and Patricia James, '19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels in the Gallery's collection', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 06 Apr 2005–24 Jul 2005
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Bibliography
Referenced in 2 publications
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Hendrik Kolenberg, Look, 'Australian images from the past: whether rarely seen or familiar, these works move and delight us', pg. 24-27, Sydney, Apr 2005, 27.
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Hendrik Kolenberg, 19th century Australian watercolours, drawing and pastels from the Gallery's collection, 'Introduction', pg. 6-16, Sydney, 2005, 9, 54 (colour illus.).
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