Artwork
Long-Tailed Red Fox
Long-Tailed Red Fox is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist John Woodhouse Audubon. It dates from 1851 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: JW Audubon; on reverse of lining [fabric], in another hand: B.P. Audubon
About this work
Technique & Style
As a piece within the painting classification, it utilizes oil paint as its primary medium to render the subject.
Created in 1851, Long-Tailed Red Fox is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 56.2 cm in height and 69.3 cm in width. As a piece within the painting classification, it utilizes oil paint as its primary medium to render the subject.
The physical object bears a handwritten inscription in ink on its reverse side, identifying "B.P. Audubon," which relates to the artist's family provenance rather than the artistic technique itself.
History & Provenance
Created in 1851 by John Woodhouse Audubon, the oil painting Long-Tailed Red Fox remained in the artist's possession until his death in 1862. It likely passed by inheritance to his second wife, Caroline Hall Audubon, in Salem, New York, before being transferred to Australia following her death in 1899. The work subsequently descended to their son, William Bakewell Audubon, and then to his son, Leonard Benjamin Audubon, both residing in Sydney.
Leonard Benjamin Audubon sold the painting in 1950 to E.J.L. Hallstrom of Sydney, who gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the following year.
The specific accession number assigned by the National Gallery of Art is not recorded in the available sources, and there is no information regarding the painting's exhibition history or public display.
Context
John Woodhouse Audubon painted Long-Tailed Red Fox in 1851, an oil on canvas work now held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The painting entered the museum through a gift from E.J.L. Hallstrom in 1951, having previously descended through the Audubon family in Australia. Its subject reflects the artist's focus on North American wildlife rendered with scientific precision characteristic of his legacy.
Overview
John Woodhouse Audubon’s 1851 oil on canvas, titled Long‑Tailed Red Fox, depicts a solitary fox beside a shallow water source. The animal, rendered in vivid orange and black tones, lowers its head as if drinking or sniffing the surface. Behind the creature, a horizon glows with the soft light of either sunrise or sunset, while grasses frame the scene on the right.
Subject & Meaning
The work belongs to the animal genre, focusing on a single wild creature in its natural setting. By portraying the fox in a moment of quiet vigilance, Audubon emphasizes the animal’s instinctual behavior and its integration with the surrounding landscape, inviting viewers to contemplate the delicate balance between wildlife and environment.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
