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. He also collaborated with fellow painter
Frederick Richard Lee. Landseer's popularity in
Victorian Britain was considerable, and his reputation as an animal painter was unrivalled. One of his earliest paintings is credited as the origin of the myth that
St. Bernard rescue dogs in the
Alps carry a small casket of
brandy on their collars.
Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller (1820) shows two of the dogs standing over a man who is partially buried in snow. One is barking to attract attention while the other, who is depicted with the miniature barrel, attempts to revive the man by licking his hand. His appeal crossed class boundaries: reproductions of his works were common in middle-class homes, while he was also popular with the aristocracy. Queen Victoria commissioned numerous pictures from the artist. Initially asked to paint various royal pets, he then moved on to portraits of
ghillies and
gamekeepers. Then, in the year before her marriage, the queen commissioned a portrait of herself. He taught both Victoria and Albert to etch, and made portraits of Victoria's children as babies, usually in the company of a dog. He also made two portraits of Victoria and Albert dressed for costume balls, at which he was a guest himself. One of his last paintings was a life-size
equestrian portrait of the Queen, shown at the Royal Academy in 1873, made from earlier sketches. Landseer was particularly associated with Scotland, which he had first visited in 1824 and the
Highlands in particular, which provided the subjects (both human and animal) for many of his important paintings. In 1828, he was commissioned to produce illustrations for the Waverley Edition of Sir
Walter Scott's novels. So popular and influential were Landseer's paintings of dogs in the service of humanity that the name
Landseer came to be the official name for the variety of
Newfoundland dog that, rather than being black or mostly black, features a mixture of both black and white. It was this variety Landseer popularised in his paintings celebrating Newfoundlands as water rescue dogs, most notably
Off to the Rescue (1827),
A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society (1838), and
Saved (1856). The paintings combine the Victorian conception of childhood with the appealing idea of noble animals devoted to humankind, a devotion indicated, in
Saved, by the fact the dog has rescued the child without any apparent human involvement. Landseer's painting
Laying Down The Law (c. 1840) satirises the legal profession through
anthropomorphism. It shows a group of dogs, with a
poodle symbolising the
Lord Chancellor.
The Shrew Tamed was entered at the 1861 Royal Academy Exhibition and caused controversy because of its subject matter. It showed a powerful horse on its knees among straw in a stable, while a young woman lies with her head pillowed on its flanks, lightly touching its head with her hand. The catalogue explained it as a portrait of a noted equestrienne, Ann Gilbert, applying the taming techniques of the famous 'horse whisperer'
John Solomon Rarey. Critics were troubled by the depiction of a languorous woman dominating a powerful animal and some concluded Landseer was implying the famous courtesan
Catherine Walters, then at the height of her fame. Walters was an excellent horsewoman and along with other "pretty horsebreakers", frequently appeared riding in Hyde Park. Some of Landseer's later works, such as his
Flood in the Highlands and
Man Proposes, God Disposes (both of 1864) are pessimistic in tone. The painting was purchased at auction by
Thomas Holloway and hangs in the picture gallery of
Royal Holloway, University of London. It is a college tradition to cover the painting with a
Union Jack, when exams are held in the gallery, as there is a longstanding rumour that the painting drives people mad when they sit near it. In 1862 Landseer painted a portrait of
Louisa Caroline Stewart-Mackenzie holding her daughter Maysie. File:Portrait of an Arab Mare with her Foal by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer.jpg|
Portrait of an Arab Mare with her Foal by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer. (c.1825). Commissioned by
Princess Charlotte for her lady-in-waiting, Lady Barbara Ponsonby File:The Monarch of the Glen, Edwin Landseer, 1851.png|
The Monarch of the Glen (1851): the image was widely distributed in
steel engravings. Now in the
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh File:Edwin Landseer Trial By Jury.jpg|
Laying Down the Law (c.1840) File:The Shrew Tamed.jpg|
The Shrew Tamed (1861) ==Sculpture==