Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A.

Commissioned by Sir Henry Dymoke, Bt. (1801-1865) in 1819;
His sale, London, Christie's, 20 December 1877, lot 173, to the Duchess of Montrose;
Violet Hermione Graham, 5th Duchess of Montrose;
Her sale, London, Christie's, 14 July 1894, lot 19 (as Newfoundland Dog "Venus", and rabbit);
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 4 May 1895, lot 69;
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Gentleman'), London, Sotheby's, 9 July 2009, lot 28, to the present owner.

London, British Institution, 1819, no. 188.

Annals of the Fine Arts for 1819, 1820, vol. IV, pp. 122-123;
J. Dafforne, Sir Edwin Landseer R.A., 1873, p. 83;
A. Graves, Catalogue of the Works of the late Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A., 1875, p. 6 (as Newfoundland Dog and Rabbit).

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden, who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has been enlarged, perhaps at the end of the nineteenth century, with a strip about three inches wide added at the top, an inch on the left and rather less on the right and at the base. The accompanying wide retouching has darkened considerably. The relining from that time is still strong as is the stretcher. The original richly impasted texture has been exceedingly well preserved. Although the painting has not apparently been cleaned since, there is a certain amount of rather more recent broad brush repaint around the paws mainly. The tiny craquelure in the darks of this lower area have occasional minute lost flakes. Elsewhere throughout the paint is completely secure and the central image is exceptionally well preserved. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This spectacular early work, painted when the artist was just 17 years old, was commissioned by Sir Henry Dymoke (then aged only 18 himself), to whom Venus belonged. The scene depicted conjures images of companionship and the youthful exuberance of young men out in the countryside, enjoying the bucolic sentiment of rural pursuits, and the simple pleasure of a day’s sport. A freshly shot rabbit, the spent wading from the black powder rifle still smouldering on the ground, is retrieved by a faithful and much loved hound. The act of devotion itself forms the subject of the picture. Tightly framed by the composition the fleeting moment is captured in close focus, casting the viewer in the role of the sportsman; our presence implied within the scene by the smoking rag. Dymoke was a keen sportsman, a passion that both patron and artist shared. His family lived at Scrivelsby Court, in Lincolnshire, and Henry’s father leased the shooting rights on an area of ground nearby at Wellskye Wood from Lord Fortescue. One can almost imagine the two young protagonists enjoying such a scene as this in preparation for the commission.

Exhibited at the British Institution in 1819, as A Newfoundland dog with Rabbit, it is the first of many such images of Newfoundland dogs which Landseer would later paint, and for which he is justly famous. This particular variation of the breed, with its characteristic white coat and dappled black spots, was such a favourite of his that to this day, it is referred to as a Landseer. As well as the present painting, other notable examples include one of the artist’s most recognisable works, entitled A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society, painted in 1838 (National Gallery, London), and a Portrait of Neptune, of 1824 (Sotheby's New York, 18^th October 1989, lot 3). The Newfoundland, a breed cherished for its amiable nature and lifesaving abilities, was particularly in vogue in the early decades of the century, and featured heavily in sporting art, as well as family portraits. In a review of the exhibition in the Annals of the Fine Arts, this picture was listed as one of the highlights, the critic noting in his entry: 'Newfoundland Dog and Rabbit, E. Landseer, unexcelled in the English school of animal painters'.  Sir Henry bought the picture for 35 guineas, the largest sum paid for any painting by the artist in the exhibition.¹

The title The Champion, which was acquired some time shortly after the picture was exhibited, is likely to be eponymous, and refer to the dog's owner. Since the 14^th Century the Dymoke family had held the hereditary title of King's Champion, an office which required the bearer to ride into Westminster Hall at the monarch's coronation banquet, challenging  all comers to impugn the King's title.  The earliest record of such a ceremony dates from the accession of Richard II, and was conducted by Sir John Dymoke (d.1381). The Dymokes held this office through their descent from the Marmion family, hereditary champions of the Dukes of Normandy. Sir Henry, the dog's owner, held the title of King's Champion in place of his father, John Dymoke (1764-1828), Rector of Scrivelsby and Prebendary of Lincoln, on the basis that he deemed the role incompatible with that of a clergyman. On 19^th July 1821 Sir Henry presided over the ceremony as King's Champion at the coronation of George IV, the last occasion on which the Champion appeared. In 1841 Dymoke was created a Baronet as recompense for his hereditary entitlement being dispensed with at subsequent coronations.

Landseer's dog paintings, the majority of which were painted in the late 1820s and 1830s, constitute one of the high points of his art and include some of his most popular pictures. They form a coherent body of work by virtue of their subject matter, as well as their imaginative treatment of an animal undergoing a significant symbolic conversion in the national psyche. Dogs figured heavily in the contemporary literature of the day, especially in the works of Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens. Portrayed as creatures of feeling and intelligence, by the early nineteenth century the dog was beginning to emerge in the role of the devoted companion, a phenomenon of the 'age of sentiment', in contrast to the Renaissance image of the dog as a creature essentially base and unclean. In terms of visual representation, Landseer was at the forefront of this revolution. The anthropomorphic tendencies of his work, which would come increasingly to the fore in his art, stemmed largely from the 'cult of the pet', which emanated from the romantic imagination of the late Georgian era and suffused human emotions into the world of nature. At the same time his detailed knowledge of anatomy, and his wonderful rendering of the character and texture of animal life, satisfied the quasi-scientific outlook of his audience. The present painting represents the birth of this phenomenon in his work.

We are grateful to Richard Ormond for his assistance in cataloguing this picture.

1. Landseer's three other exhibition pieces that year included no. 105, The Cat Disturbed (bought by Sir J. G. Egerton for 25gns), no. 108, The Wanton Puppy (bought by H.R. Hoare for 20gns), and no. 218, Fighting Dogs getting wind (bought by Sir G. Beaumont, for an undisclosed sum).