Lion Low

I picked this watercolor up at an estate sale the other day. While the piece has no date, I immediately felt it was from the 1970s, and made me remember Born Free from my childhood. I managed to dash to the sale late in the day, and found the artwork in the garage. Painted by “Mary Lee”, titled “Lions”, and set me back $25. Internet sleuthing is near impossible for a watercolor with no date and “Mary Lee” as the artist. (see note) 

The earworm “Born Free” started buzzing in my brain, and so off to the Oracle to see why. Born Free was a memoir published in 1960 by Joy Adamson. A movie followed in 1966. (The movie won two Oscars for the song Born Free which explains my earworm). Given that I was only 3 when the movie came out, I suspect my memories were from the 14-episode television show run in 1974. The story of an “orphaned” lion Elsa, raised and then released into the wild by Joy and George Adamson is more complex than my memory recalled, and while tragic on many levels, it also did a great deal of good for conservation awareness. George killed Elsa’s mother, and then reared the 4 days old cubs he discovered (which is why he believed the lioness was attacking him – she was protecting her cubs). Two cubs were sent off to zoos and Elsa was eventually released into the wild after much retraining. Sadly, she only lived a few more years, dying of a tick-born malaria-type illness. Tragically, Joy Adamson was murdered in 1980 at age 70, and George was murdered by poachers in 1989. The Elsa Conservation Trust they created for the profits from their numerous books and movies has continued to this day, and it donates funds for wildlife education and conservation. https://elsaconservationtrust.org/

Back in 1990, pregnant with our first child, husband and I attended “Art In The Barn” in Barrington, IL. While browsing, we came across “Animal Crackers” by Ann Otis. I loved the colors, and the memories it recalled of eating Animal Crackers as a child while grocery shopping with my mother. I could still happily eat a box, and I purchased them for my children while schlepping them through grocery stores as well. Who didn’t “play” with the animals as you munched them?! If you managed to save a few unbroken ones, you turned the box into a circus toy. Only lasted as long as the crackers, however, which in my case was not terribly long! The charming artwork hung in our nursery for years, and eventually was put away as the kids grew and décor changed.

As an aside, it seems I was smart enough to tuck a business card into the back of the frame when I purchased the piece. Ann Otis was a local artist, who made “etchings and monoprints”, and she charged $75 for the framed piece in 1990. Given her chosen mediums, I suspect the work is an etching, with multiple plates imprinting different color to the work. A complicated process, and criminally underpriced. You can see the etched line work clearly in the standing lion, particularly in his mane and face. (Note to self: always save the paperwork)

Many years later, when I began collecting “circus” artwork, I picked up yet another lion. This from the local flea market. The piece is a woodblock print – the image was created by carving a piece of wood with the lion, and pressing it onto the paper. The added grass and blue sun may have been a second piece of carved wood, inked in different colors and layered over the lion. “Sollid” made 200 of these, likely in the mid 1970s based on the coloring. The dealer,  Dale’s Upstairs Gallery in Racine, WI (no website -he’s old school) uses vintage frames he collects to reframe old pieces, and suggested the white washed framing. We settled on the dark blue matting and I love the unusual look!

This woodblock lion hung in our “circus theme” family room near my Calder until another fun estate sale find replaced it (https://www.ericasheirloomquilts.com/ericas-heirloom-treasures/dante-at-the-circus). Now, having two charming “lion” pieces tucked into a closet, I decide two makes a collection, and moved them into an upstairs bathroom. Word of advice, however: don’t give an O.C.D. art obsessed woman a “theme”! Finding “lion” artwork has become a fun hobby.

This piece, a charming acrylic painting, was found at the local thrift shop, destined immediately for the bathroom. It is unsigned and undated, and cost $2.50. It is painted on wood, and the bright colors make me guess it’s c.2000. It is small, but I do enjoy the feeling the artist created, with the fabulous flowers draped through the lion’s mane, and the majestic face, well done in paint.

My last piece (thus far anyway) was purchased off eBay as it was one I could not pass by. An oil painting on canvas, dated April, 1974 and signed by Helen Owen Snodgrass. No information online about artist, but she clearly had a sense of humor. She titled the piece “Lion Low”. The back also states “Mother” gifted it to “Jill” on July 29, 1974. No way of knowing, but I suspect Helene may have been Jill’s mother, gifting her a humorous visual for the 1970s, including the ridiculous headband and hippie hairdo. After the 1966 movie, and 1974 television show, lions became quite popular. Born Free inspired many of the nature shows we all watched on our old television sets – no remotes, no recordings, tied to the actual channel’s schedule. If it was Sunday at 7:00 you sat on the sofa to watch Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. There were other animal shows as well, Animal World, Flipper, Mr. Ed – the idea of animals deserving respect and conservation was a new idea, at least one that finally got traction, in the 1960s and 1970s. I’d be lying if I said the damage humans are doing to the animal world – as well as environment in general – does not distress me. But when I am feeling low, I can appreciate the artwork of many people celebrating these majestic animals.

Note: internet sleuths determined the piece was painted by Nan Lee Roberts (1920-2007), an artist of some renown.