58 ANIMAL PAINTERS 



Mr. Wells* furnishes the writer with a far more 

 striking example of skilful speed : Landseer was 

 paying one of his frequent visits to Holme Wood 

 in August, 1 83 1, and on Sunday, while the family 

 was absent at church, he remained at home to 

 paint a portrait of Trim, a favourite spaniel belong- 

 ing to Mr. Wells. When the church party returned 

 they were shown the picture of a dog holding a 

 rabbit in his mouth : it had been begun and finished 

 in two hours and a half ! This portrait, measuring 

 28 inches by 34 inches, Landseer presented to his 

 host ; it was placed in a panel over the fireplace 

 in Mr. Wells' smoking room at Holme Wood, 

 where it remained until the great sale at Christie's 

 in 1890, when it was sold for 750 guineas. An 

 engraving from this picture by I. Webb appears in 

 Vol. 2 of the Nciv Sporting Magazine for 1831, 

 and the accompanying letterpress — for the most 

 part a dialogue between two gamekeepers— refers 

 to "the talented artist," which cannot be considered 

 extravagant praise ! 



It was in 183 1 that Landseer was elected a Royal 

 Academician. He presented as his Diploma work 

 "The Faithful Hound " ; a deerhound with uplifted 

 muzzle, howling over the corpse of his master, who, 



* Mr. Wells, of Holme Wood, near Peterborough, and 

 Redleaf, whose famous collection of pictures was sold at 

 Christie's in 1890; vide Sales of Sir Edwin Landseer's Works, 

 p. 78, seq. 



