Offering of the Day: A Begging Terrier Pencil Drawing by English Artist Sir Edwin Henry Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R. A. (1802-1873)
A Begging Terrier
Pencil on paper
9 x 6 1/4 inches
Signed with monogram and dated lower right: 1822 (?)
$8,500
Provenance:
The Artist’s sale, London, Christie’s, 8-15 May 1874 to the
grandfather of the late owner
Landseer was a child prodigy whose artistic talents were
recognized early on. He studied under Benjamin Robert Haydon, the well-known
and controversial natural history painter who encouraged the young Landseer to
perform dissections in order to fully understand animal musculature and
skeletal structure. At the age of just 13, in 1815, Landseer exhibited works at
the Royal Academy. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy at the age
of 24, and an Academician of the Royal Academy five years later in 1831. He was
knighted in 1850, and was elected President of the Royal Academy in 1866.
Landseer enjoyed considerable popularity in Victorian
Britain. He was widely regarded as one of the foremost animal painters of his
time, and reproductions of his works were commonly found in middle-class homes.
His appeal crossed class boundaries, as Landseer was quite popular with the
British aristocracy as well, including Queen Victoria, who commissioned
numerous portraits of her family and pets from the artist. Landseer was
particularly associated with Scotland and the Scottish Highlands, which
provided the subjects (both human and animal) for many of his important
paintings.
Interestingly, he was rumored to be able to paint with both
hands at the same time, for example, paint a horse's head with the right and
its tail with the left, simultaneously. He was also known to be able to paint
extremely quickly when the mood struck him. He could also procrastinate,
sometimes for years, over certain commissions.
Landseer was a notable figure in 19th century British art,
and his works can be found in Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kenwood
House and the Wallace Collection in London.
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