Images shows clay original before casting.
Bronze, Signed Hamish Mackie
Numbered Edition of 12
Dated 2025
164cm high x TBCcm deep x TBCcm wide including 6mm high Purbeck limestone base
Sculptures can be shipped worldwide at cost, no VAT payable on exports outside the EU.
£TBC inc VATLeopards are among the most elusive of all wild creatures and, for me, one of the most inspiring subjects to sculpt. I love the challenge of capturing their fluid, feline movements in a composition. They have both an incredible power and a sublime elegance, particularly in moments of stealth. It is that fine balance of strength, grace and secrecy that continues to draw me back to them.
I have studied leopards with AfriCat in Namibia and more recently in Tanzania with Nomad. Our guide, Joel, had an uncanny ability to find big cats – often when I was distracted by more regular subjects to sculpt. In March 2025, I returned from the Serengeti with a wealth of unexpected leopard inspiration, having been fortunate enough to experience near National Geographic–level sightings. These encounters became the foundation for my 2025 Leopard Series.
Nomad’s Lamai Camp lies close to the southern banks of the infamous Mara River, prime leopard territory scattered with rocky kopjes that provide perfect cover. A female leopard had been spotted resting high in a sycamore fig tree beside her oribi kill.
Joel knew exactly where to position the Land Cruiser, which I was using as my mobile studio. With the engine switched off, we waited. As dusk approached, she began to descend, climbing with astonishing agility. Witnessing a wild leopard move like this—and capturing it on film—filled my inspiration bucket to the brim. That moment directly led to this sculpture of her climbing down from the tree and Leopard Jumping Out of a Tree which is a smaller work of her mid-leap.
With a full belly, the mother leopard set off to find her cubs. I watched her travel nearly a kilometre, frequently using fallen trees and boulders as elevated lookout points along the way and those observations inspired my Leopard Lookout sculpture.
It was known that she had two cubs, hidden carefully as leopard cubs are vulnerable to predators such as hyena. As daylight faded, she had still not found them and we left with an uneasy sense of uncertainty about their fate. The story continues with my sculpture Leopard Cub Head Study.
Watching a leopard balance along narrow branches some thirty feet above the ground is a masterclass in precision and control. One misplaced step could easily result in a fall. The tension and dynamics of that descent demanded to be sculpted.
Closer to home, I found a beautifully weathered old branch that was perfect for the composition I had in mind. I was also influenced by the remarkable close-up leopard footage featured in the BBC’s Nature: Kingdom series. I often think of sculpting as piecing together a jigsaw, and at this point I finally had enough pieces to complete Leopard Climbing Down a Tree.
