#EDWIN LANDSEER PROFESSIONAL#

Thanks almost entirely to the efforts of the late Ron Pemberton, an American breed enthusiast and collector who spearheaded a committee to raise a not inconsiderable sum to have the picture restored, it would still be languishing at the Tate.

It later passed into the possession of the Tate Gallery, where it languished unloved for many years, getting more and more distressed. He left the picture to the National Gallery, into whose possession it passed on the death of his widow in 1887. Newman Smith whose husband purchased the picture for 100 Sovereigns. The model for the picture was a dog called “Paul Pry” who belonged to Mrs. The painting is thought to commemorate Bob’s bravery. Bob was supposed to have found his way to London, where he gained a reputation for life-saving, credited with 23 rescues. The original “Distinguished Member” was said to have been a stray dog called “Bob” who, tradition has it, had twice been shipwrecked with his owner. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838 and was instantly considered one of the finest of Landseer’s work. Landseer’s painting “A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society” is one of the most iconic dog pictures of all time. He put the retrievers to good use at the shooting parties he hosted at Glen Affric Lodge.ĭi Sellers with Landseer's iconic painting “A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society.” They are being led by a Golden Retriever, for it was at Guisachan House on the estate that Lord Tweedsmouth initiated the first breed of Golden Retrievers. One of the murals depicts a ghillie returning from stalking with a stag across the pony’s back. Perched seemingly in the epicenter of a loch is Glen Affric Lodge there Landseer painted murals on the walls of the reading room. The Glen Affric estate of some 10,000 acres contains a large area of the ancient Caledonian pinewoods.

Glen Affric is often described as the most beautiful glen in Scotland. Landseer first visited Scotland in 1824, and once discovered, Scotland was to become his favorite hunting ground. He also painted the Queen’s relation, Princess Victorie of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, with three Toy Spaniels. His paintings of the Queen’s Toy Spaniel “Dash” and Prince Albert’s Greyhound “Eos” are two of the best-known Victorian portraits of dogs. Landseer acquired patrons from the upper echelons of society, from the growing band of wealthy industrialists with their “new money” even Queen Victoria became one of his foremost patrons.

His charm quickly won him entrée into the drawing rooms of the great and influential, so throughout his life he was able to move in the highest aristocratic circles.

#EDWIN LANDSEER PROFESSIONAL#

With professional success and from a fairly sheltered early life, he blossomed into a dandy and man of the world. By the age of 16 he was an active exhibitor at the Royal Academy, already patronized by leading collectors and talked about as being the next great star. Landseer was the son of the multi-talented John Landseer: writer, antiquarian and theorist but above all an engraver.Įdwin was a child prodigy who became a brilliant painter, master of anatomy and a great draughtsman. His first large-scale painting of dogs was painted when he was only 14 and was exhibited at the British Institution, where it was greatly admired. Landseer would also be considered the first artist to popularized dog art as a genre. (1802-1873) is remembered best for the monumental lions in Trafalgar Square in London and his equally monumental painting “Monarch of the Glen.” Considered the greatest sporting artist of the 19th Century, Sir Edwin Landseer R.A.

Edwin landseer