Jacques Lehman, who usually signed his work with the pseudonym Jacques Nam, was a French artist particularly known for his animal illustrations. Coming from a family of Parisian musicians, Jacques Lehman entered Jean-Léon Gérôme’s School of Fine  Arts at the age of nineteen. Recognising his interest, Gérôme encouraged him to go and draw wild animals at the Jardin des Plantes.

From 1900 onwards he began to draw humorous, and later political, drawings for Paris newspapers including Le Rire, Le Sourire, La Vie Parisienne, Le Figaro, and L’Echo de Paris. He also worked as an illustrator for publishers such as Hachette, Flammarion and Delagrave. His penchant for animals, particularly for cats, made his deliberately rustic style particularly suitable for the novels of Colette, and for the Bibliothèque Verte, which specialised in nature subjects. As well as illustrations, Lehman also produced sculptures and paintings.

We are very grateful to our Russian friend Yuri for suggesting the inclusion of this artist, and for supplying many of the images.

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