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Lot Essay
In the apparent absence of any Christie's stock numbers on the reverse of the picture, it is not known whether it was included in the artist's studio sale at Christie's in 1874. According to a label on the reverse in contemporary handwriting, it was owned by the collector Alfred Harris. It corresponds in size and description to lot 49 in Harris' sale at Christie's of 17 March 1900. In this sale, Harris sold three further works by Landseer, one of which is now in the Fogg Museum of Art, Boston and has on the reverse a bill of sale from Landseer to Harris.
It is likely that A Highland shepherd - a sketch was painted early in the 1820s and was most probably intended as a finished composition that was later abandoned before completion. A portrait of Sir Walter Scott (London, National Portrait Gallery) from the same date (circa 1824) shows the same detailed finish to the head with the figure, hands and background only sketched. A head study for A Highland shepherd - a sketch, measuring 10½ x 7 in., was sold by Christie's on 4th June 1982, lot 12.
Landseer first visited Scotland in 1824 and it was an overwhelmingly influential trip that inspired him to return to the Highlands every autumn and to make Scottish subjects the focus of his painting. The passion for Scotland amongst wealthy and aristocratic Englishmen was at its zenith during Landseer's lifetime and his work appealed to those who travelled each year to Scotland either in search of sport or the sublime beauty of the mountains and who saw the Highland way of life through the romantic literature of authors such as Sir Walter Scott. Landseer was the one of the first of many Victorian artists to give a visual representation of these romantic notions of Scottish life. In the 1820s, when this picture was most likely painted, it was still possible to overlook the reality of extreme poverty and economic decline that the Highlanders faced. However, unlike many visitors, Landseer was not oblivious to the abject poverty that many faced in the Highlands and his sympathetic rendering of the shepherd in the present work reflects his understanding of the characters he met. As Ormond noted, 'Landseer was keenly perceptive of the poverty and hardship suffered by many of the resilient characters he admired so much. His interiors paint a stark picture of living conditions in the crofts, of tenant farms, and the acuteness of his observation endows the simplest accessories with a telling sympathy.' (R. Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer, 1981, p. 60-61).
It is likely that A Highland shepherd - a sketch was painted early in the 1820s and was most probably intended as a finished composition that was later abandoned before completion. A portrait of Sir Walter Scott (London, National Portrait Gallery) from the same date (circa 1824) shows the same detailed finish to the head with the figure, hands and background only sketched. A head study for A Highland shepherd - a sketch, measuring 10½ x 7 in., was sold by Christie's on 4th June 1982, lot 12.
Landseer first visited Scotland in 1824 and it was an overwhelmingly influential trip that inspired him to return to the Highlands every autumn and to make Scottish subjects the focus of his painting. The passion for Scotland amongst wealthy and aristocratic Englishmen was at its zenith during Landseer's lifetime and his work appealed to those who travelled each year to Scotland either in search of sport or the sublime beauty of the mountains and who saw the Highland way of life through the romantic literature of authors such as Sir Walter Scott. Landseer was the one of the first of many Victorian artists to give a visual representation of these romantic notions of Scottish life. In the 1820s, when this picture was most likely painted, it was still possible to overlook the reality of extreme poverty and economic decline that the Highlanders faced. However, unlike many visitors, Landseer was not oblivious to the abject poverty that many faced in the Highlands and his sympathetic rendering of the shepherd in the present work reflects his understanding of the characters he met. As Ormond noted, 'Landseer was keenly perceptive of the poverty and hardship suffered by many of the resilient characters he admired so much. His interiors paint a stark picture of living conditions in the crofts, of tenant farms, and the acuteness of his observation endows the simplest accessories with a telling sympathy.' (R. Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer, 1981, p. 60-61).