c1850 Sir Edwin Landseer Archive—Four Autograph Letters Discussing His Paintings, Sir Walter Scott, David Roberts and Artistic Arrangements
A significant collection of approximately four autograph letters and notes signed by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, one of the most celebrated British artists of the Victorian era and creator of the monumental bronze lions in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Dating principally from the middle of the 19th century, the correspondence combines social and professional matters with unusually desirable references to Landseer’s paintings and artistic circle. One letter, written from Richmond on May 4, 1858, discusses an account and the selection or placement of a picture. Another refers specifically to Landseer’s “Picture 141.”
The most important letter provides what appears to be a descriptive list of pictures, beginning:
“No. 1 Portrait of the late Sir Walter Scott, Bart., etc., etc., accompanied by his favourite dogs, Spice and Ginger…”
The manuscript also appears to mention celebrated Scottish architectural and landscape painter David Roberts.
Landseer knew Sir Walter Scott personally and visited him at Abbotsford. His portraits and paintings of Scott and his dogs became part of the enduring visual mythology surrounding the great Scottish author. A manuscript in which Landseer directly identifies such a picture is therefore of genuine art-historical interest.
Landseer achieved extraordinary popularity through his sympathetic and frequently anthropomorphic depictions of dogs, deer, horses, and Highland life. A favorite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, he was elected to the Royal Academy at an early age, knighted in 1850, and later commissioned to model the four enormous bronze lions surrounding Nelson’s Column.
The archive includes several boldly signed examples of Landseer’s famously energetic handwriting, together with an associated period cover addressed to Russell Square, London.
The letters display original folds, toning, scattered stains and soiling, edge wear, occasional short tears, and evidence of former album mounting. One manuscript is attached to an old collector’s mount and another retains an early dealer’s identification label. The cover is heavily worn and punctured from an old fastening. All principal signatures and important passages remain visible.
A compelling primary-source archive connecting one of Victorian Britain’s greatest animal painters with his pictures, patrons, and artistic contemporaries.
A significant collection of approximately four autograph letters and notes signed by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, one of the most celebrated British artists of the Victorian era and creator of the monumental bronze lions in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Dating principally from the middle of the 19th century, the correspondence combines social and professional matters with unusually desirable references to Landseer’s paintings and artistic circle. One letter, written from Richmond on May 4, 1858, discusses an account and the selection or placement of a picture. Another refers specifically to Landseer’s “Picture 141.”
The most important letter provides what appears to be a descriptive list of pictures, beginning:
“No. 1 Portrait of the late Sir Walter Scott, Bart., etc., etc., accompanied by his favourite dogs, Spice and Ginger…”
The manuscript also appears to mention celebrated Scottish architectural and landscape painter David Roberts.
Landseer knew Sir Walter Scott personally and visited him at Abbotsford. His portraits and paintings of Scott and his dogs became part of the enduring visual mythology surrounding the great Scottish author. A manuscript in which Landseer directly identifies such a picture is therefore of genuine art-historical interest.
Landseer achieved extraordinary popularity through his sympathetic and frequently anthropomorphic depictions of dogs, deer, horses, and Highland life. A favorite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, he was elected to the Royal Academy at an early age, knighted in 1850, and later commissioned to model the four enormous bronze lions surrounding Nelson’s Column.
The archive includes several boldly signed examples of Landseer’s famously energetic handwriting, together with an associated period cover addressed to Russell Square, London.
The letters display original folds, toning, scattered stains and soiling, edge wear, occasional short tears, and evidence of former album mounting. One manuscript is attached to an old collector’s mount and another retains an early dealer’s identification label. The cover is heavily worn and punctured from an old fastening. All principal signatures and important passages remain visible.
A compelling primary-source archive connecting one of Victorian Britain’s greatest animal painters with his pictures, patrons, and artistic contemporaries.
