![William Holman Hunt - The Scapegoat [1855]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3954/15553724609_d098178179_o.jpg)
William Holman Hunt travelled to Jerusalem in June 1854 and then on to Oosdoom, on the southern shore of the Dead Sea, in October of that year. Here he started a smaller study for the Lady Lever painting, which is now in Manchester City Art Gallery. Before a second trip to the area in the November, he bought a rare, white goat in Jerusalem then spent about ten days working on the Lady Lever canvas at Oosdoom, painting the distant mountains and lake and making sketches of the goat. The goat proved a somewhat fidgety subject, refusing to stand still or hold a pose. When poor weather forced Hunt to return to Jerusalem for the winter, the goat died on the journey home. The painting was not completed in time for the Royal Academy exhibition of 1855 but was submitted in 1856. People were puzzled by the subject of the painting and were generally uncomplimentary.
[Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool, currently housed in Manchester City Art Gallery - Oil on canvas]