Hudson's Bay Lemming 1846

John Woodhouse Audubon painted these Hudson's Bay Lemmings in oil on canvas, but the precise date remains unconfirmed. The painting depicts two lemmings in their natural habitat, set against a dramatic, cloudy sky. It's interesting to consider how images of animals like these lemmings were used in 19th-century America. Audubon was the son of John James Audubon, famous for his ambitious project to document all the birds of America. Both Audubons contributed to a scientific understanding of the natural world, but their images also fed into a broader cultural narrative of American expansion and the taming of the wilderness. By studying the expeditionary accounts and scientific publications of the time, we can gain a richer understanding of this painting's place in the history of science and in the social imagination. It reminds us that our understanding of art is always shaped by its historical and institutional context.