The Sale of the Pet Lamb

Collins's Sale of the Pet Lamb from around 1813 depicts one of the sentimental rural subjects of childhood loss that were central to his early career success—the scene of a child's distress when a cherished animal must be sold as part of the economic reality of rural life. The pet-lamb subject had an obvious emotional appeal, placing childhood attachment and adult economic necessity in poignant contrast, and Collins's treatment combined direct observation of the specific expressions and postures of grief with the rural setting that gave the scene its documentary character. The work belongs to his earliest exhibiting career, when he was establishing the rural childhood subjects that would occupy him throughout his professional life and distinguish him as one of the leading painters of British pastoral genre.

The sentimental subject is rendered with careful attention to the children's expressions and the rural setting. Collins's technique combines precise figure painting with atmospheric landscape effects that create a convincing outdoor setting.