The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Horizontally-oriented oil painting depicting King David, a man with medium skin tone and a bushy black beard, seated in profile facing our right, his arm resting on a beige wall running beside him as he looks over a mountainous landscape. David wears a gold earring and black robes, his gold crown at his feet, leaning against the wall. Clouds roll over the mountains, revealing gold sky above into which two white birds fly.

David: "Oh, that I had wings like a Dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest." Psalm 55:6

1865

Frederic Leighton

(British, 1830–1896)
England, 19th century
oil on fabric
Framed: 125 x 152.4 x 4.5 cm (49 3/16 x 60 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 96.5 x 122.5 cm (38 x 48 1/4 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1986.74
Location: 219 19th Century European

Description

From the many events in the turbulent life of the biblical King David, Leighton chose to depict his moment of gravest doubt. Having just learned of the death of his rebellious son Absalom at the hands of his own army, David has withdrawn to a chamber above the city gate. Casting aside his crown, which lies on the floor, the ruler muses on the conflicting demands of family and nation.
  • Possibly Henry Graves & Co., London sale, Christie's, 7 March 1868. James Leathart by 1884, London sale, Christie's, 19 June 1897 (lot 39), 130 gns. to Colnaghi. Different Properties, London sale, Christie's, 21 July 1919 (lot 121), £50.80 to Sampson. Peter Nahum, London. Purchased by the CMA in 1986.
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (February 1987): 38–79. Reproduced: p. 53; Mentioned: p. 62, no. 36 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition in Focus: Lord Leighton’s King David, October 21 – November 29, 1987” October 8, 1987, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 396-397, Vol. II, no. 137
  • Artist as Narrator: Nineteenth Century Narrative Art in England and France. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK (organizer) (September 8-November 27, 2005).
    Oklahoma City Art Museum (9/8/2005 - 11/27/2005): "Artist as Narrator: Nineteenth Century Narrative Art in England and France", p. 16.
    Frederic Leighton 1830-1896 (Frederic, Lord Leighton). Royal Academy of Arts (organizer) (February 15-April 21, 1996).
    London, Royal Academy. Frederic Leighton 1830-1896 (1996), no. 34 (repr.).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
    London, Peter Nahum and Chris Beetles. Inaugural Exhibition. A Celebration of British and European Painting of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (London, 1985), 32-35 (repr.). Text by Christopher Newall.
    London, Royal Academy. (1865), no. 5, David; "Oh that I had wings like a Dove!"
    London, Royal Academy. Exhibition of Works by the Late Lord Leighton of Stretton, Winter Exhibition (1897), no. 18, David, 1865, lent by Mrs. Leathart.
  • {{cite web|title=David: "Oh, that I had wings like a Dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest." Psalm 55:6|url=false|author=Frederic Leighton|year=1865|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.74