Leatherstocking's Rescue

John Quidor

1832 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

While better known for his paintings based on the writings of Washington Irving, Quidor also painted scenes from the popular novels of James Fenimore Cooper. In this episode from The Pioneers (1823), the woodsman Natty Bumppo, also known as Leatherstocking, rescues two comely young women from a female panther, which, in protecting her cub, destroyed their dog and then turned, threateningly, to them. Quidor enhanced the fantastic and horrific aspects of the story in the highly stylized setting of twisted tree trunks and roots, which take on menacing shapes.

Artist

John Quidor

Date

1832

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Erving Wolf Foundation, in memory of Diane R. Wolf, 1978