Sir Edwin Landseer R.A.* (British, 1802-1873)

Retriever and Woodcock

Details

Sir Edwin Landseer R.A.* (British, 1802-1873)
Retriever and Woodcock
oil on canvas
28 x 19 in. (71.8 x 49.5 cm.)
Painted in 1845

Provenance

William Wells; sale, Christie's London, 10 May 1890, lot 55 (2,000 gns. to Agnews)
with Scott and Fowles, New York (1951)

Literature

A. Graves, Catalogue of the Work of the Late Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A., London, 1876, p. 27, no. 336

Exhibited

London, British Institution, 1845
London, Royal Academy, The Works of the Late Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A., 1874, no. 338

Engraved

Thomas Landseer, 1850
C. G. Lewis, 1871

Lot Essay

During the 1840s, Landseer was at the height of his career painting numerous commissions for the Royal Family like Eos, A Favorite Greyhound, The Property of H.R.H. Prince Albert which was commissioned by Queen Victoria for a Christmas present for Prince Albert in 1841. His dog paintings reflected "the more generalized and symbolic nature of Landseer's subject matter." (R. Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer, Philadelphia, 1981, p. 191). His expert rendering of the setter's coat contrasts with the woodcock's plummage. The setter's eye takes on a human expression as it carefully holds the live bird in its mouth.

William Wells of Redleaf amassed about three dozen Landseer paintings as well as a large number of prints and drawing. He owned some of the artist's finest dog paintings such as Decoyman's Dog and Duck (ibid., p. 194, no. 142, illustrated) and The Shepherd's Grave (ibid., p. 104, no. 61) as well as other imporant paintings such as Highland Interior (ibid., p. 77, no. 34), None But the Brave Deserve the Fair (ibid., p. 169, no. 120), and The Sanctuary, now in the Royal Collection, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (ibid., p. 170, no. 121).