The great animalier sculptor, Antoine-Louis Barye, was especially partial to all manner of cats, having produced more than 60 sculptures of them over his career. Of the Seated Lion alone he sculpted six different versions. George Lucas acquired at least one example in bronze of all six and sent them to Baltimore. It was the king of France, Louis-Phillipe, who commanded the production of the monumental Seated Lion sculpture, made first as a small model sculpted in clay, then converted to plaster. In preparation for that commission, Barye created the five different small Seated Lion studies exhibited here, all in slightly variable poses and sizes with slightly different hair and muscle details. It seems logical that the Seated Lion Sketch, the least detailed, was probably the first one created. The numbers assigned by Barye to the following four would seem to indicate the order in which they were created. Seated Lion #4, the final study, was described by Barye as the sketch for the large Seated Lion. It is possible that Barye enlarged this study mechanically (using a mechanical device to transfer measurements to a clay or plaster blank). It seems more likely, however, that Barye enlarged it freehand (just by looking at it and sculpting a larger work in clay). Although these five small works were created, probably in wax, prior to 1847, they were not all immediately available in bronze. However, by the mid-nineteenth century, the rising middle class offered a new market for small-scale sculpture. Barye responded to this new market by casting his work in series. Seated Lion #1 was the first of this group to be edited (made in series) by Barye as early as 1847. Seated Lions #2 and #3 began to be edited about 1857 and #4 about 1870. Bronzes for sale would have been produced episodically over decades as the market demanded. Seated Lion Sketch was never produced in bronze during Barye’s life. When Barye died in 1875, his models were sold at auction with subsequent casts produced posthumously.