The Wolf's Den is an 1862âÂÂ63 oil painting by the English artist John Everett Millais (1829âÂÂ1896). It shows four children at play, either lying or crouching on the floor, with toys and flowers scattered around. The centrally positioned child, a boy, plays wolf by wearing a fur rug with a red material fringe; he looks directly at the viewer. It is signed with Millais' monogram and dated 1863.
This was one of several paintings Millais made of his children. He began it in 1862 and finished it the following year. It shows his oldest four children, Everett, George, Effie and Mary, who are
The painting was featured in the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1863, catalogue number 498. Critic Marion Spielmann wrote of the painting in 1898:
The painting entered a private collection in Japan in c. 1920, and remained in private ownership in Japan until October 2020, when it was purchased by the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.