The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco)

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco), ca. 1930, oil on fiberboard, 29 ⁷⁄₈ x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.198

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Artwork Details

Title: The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco)
Artist: Henry Ossawa Tanner
Date: ca. 1930
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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2nd Floor
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East Wing
Dimensions: 29 ⁷⁄₈ x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on fiberboard
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Religion — New Testament — Good Shepherd
Landscape — mountain — Atlas Mountains
Landscape — Morocco
Occupation — farm — shepherd
Animal — sheep
Object Number: 1983.95.198
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.198

Artwork Description

In 1912, Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Morocco to see the Atlas Mountains. In this painting he downplayed the story in favor of the impressive landscape itself. Tanner’s son Jesse remembered that The Good Shepherd was his father’s favorite subject. The artist believed that “God needs us to help fight with him against evil and we need God to guide us” (Jesse Tanner in Mathews, Henry Ossawa Tanner, American Artist, 1969).