John Tolmay - Death Wish! Maybe!
John Tolmay - Death Wish! Maybe!

John Tolmay - Death Wish! Maybe!

Regular price $3,600.00 Sale

John Tolmay
Death Wish! Maybe!
male lion lying on a rock surveying the landscape
bronze edition of 25: NEW PIECE Sculpted in 2023
14h x 10w x 16L in 
$3,600
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Bronze Africa ‘Death Wish! Maybe!’

Another request for a new sculpture came in earlier this year – sculpting a lion, not one characterized by anger or aggression, but rather a lion in repose, tranquil and relaxed. Indeed, this majestic creature tends to be more placid than not.

Working with feline subjects, I find, is uniquely challenging; they possess a certain enigmatic quality. When I admire sculptures in the vein of Bugatti’s masterpieces, I am consistently fascinated by his ability to capture the very spirit of these animals, despite having only observed them within the confines of a zoo.

In my most recent endeavor, I’ve chosen to portray a lion lounging upon a rugged outcrop. In my interpretation, he seems to be fixating on something that irks him, perhaps another male encroaching upon his domain, which inspired the piece’s title.

John Tolmay

Born in Southern Rhodesia in 1943, John Tolmay grew up immersed in the African bush, where an early fascination with wildlife and nature inspired him to begin drawing his observations. After agricultural college in South Africa, he traveled to Europe and the United States, working as a cowboy in Nebraska and New Mexico before returning to Rhodesia in 1966 to ranch.

Tolmay began guiding African hunting safaris in 1974, an experience that gave him an intimate understanding of wildlife, movement, and anatomy - knowledge that would later become fundamental to his work as a sculptor. He completed and sold his first bronze in 1989 and has since devoted himself to capturing the animals and experiences of a lifetime spent in the wild.

A committed conservationist as well as an artist, Tolmay founded Zambia's Nyawa Pilot Project, promoting community-based wildlife management and a sustainable relationship between rural communities and their natural resources.