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.
Read the visual description

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.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

Arctic Hare

John James Audubon

Date
c. 1841
Medium
pen and black ink and graphite with watercolor and oil paint on paper
Dimensions
overall: 61 x 86.9 cm (24 x 34 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1951.9.10
Credit line
Gift of E.J.L. Hallstrom
Time span
1826 to 1850
Department
CG-W

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • mammal
  • animal
  • Rabbit
  • Realist
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.

Inscription

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

NGA object ID 39773. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.