This painting depicts a small, simple cottage surrounded by trees. In front of the cottage appears to be a person next to a flock of animals, such as sheep or cattle. However, the details are indistinct, and there is little contrast between these figures and the background. Everything in the painting is colored in shades of yellow-ochre, light green, and reddish-brown tones. The brushstrokes are visible and textured.

Gallery mode Full size at the museum

The Good Shepherd

painter Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859 - 1937)

c. 1918

Medium: oil on canvas on particle board
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: overall: 60.33 × 48.26 cm (23 3/4 × 19 in.) ; framed: 71.76 × 60.33 × 3.49 cm (28 1/4 × 23 3/4 × 1 3/8 in.)
Culture: American
Museum: National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line: Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.)
Rights: Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

More by Henry Ossawa Tanner

See all

More like this

See all