Cat and Dogs belonging to Queen Victoria

Charles Burton Barber specialized in paintings of children with animals — particularly dogs — and produced many such works for Queen Victoria and the Royal Family. This 1885 painting of cats and dogs belonging to Queen Victoria was part of a significant patronage relationship: the Queen commissioned Barber repeatedly to document her beloved pets, particularly her collies and her Pomeranian 'White Heather.' These royal animal paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy and engraved for wide distribution, making Barber's sentimental animal studies familiar across the English-speaking world.

Barber renders the royal pets with his characteristic meticulous attention to fur texture and animal character — each animal given a distinct personality through pose and expression. The setting is indicated with the broad, confident handling of an experienced painter of anecdotal subjects, with the animals themselves commanding pictorial emphasis.