Dandie Dinmont

Dandie Dinmont (1852) takes its title from the fictional farmer in Walter Scott's 1815 novel Guy Mannering, who kept a celebrated pack of short-legged, rough-coated terriers that became so associated with the character that the breed was subsequently named after him. The Dandie Dinmont terrier thus carried both literary and national resonance for Victorian viewers steeped in Scott. Landseer's choice of subject was characteristically shrewd: painting a named breed with strong Scottish-literary associations appealed simultaneously to dog enthusiasts, Scott devotees, and admirers of Highland culture. The painting belongs to the Royal Collection, pointing to the sustained royal appetite for Landseer's animal subjects well into his career. By 1852, Landseer was in his fiftieth year and suffering increasingly from depression and alcoholism, though his technical facility remained formidable.

Oil on canvas with Landseer's considered approach to the rendering of a distinctive breed's physical character. The Dandie Dinmont's long, flowing topknot and profuse coat are described through layered pale brushwork over a warmer ground. The dog's characteristically gentle, soulful expression is captured through careful modelling of the muzzle and deep-set eyes.