70 ANIMAL PAINTERS 



belongs to Her Majesty. " War," in the National 

 Gallery, exhibited in 1846, and "The Monarch of 

 the Glen," exhibited in 1851, are familiar to all 

 through the art of the engraver. " The Flood in 

 the Highlands," exhibited in i860, is described by 

 Mr. Stephens as " probably the strongest of all his 

 paintings " in its powerful expression of the emo- 

 tions of both man and beast. 



In 1850 the artist had received the honour of 

 knighthood from the Queen. 



The only race horse of note whose portrait 

 Landseer painted was Lord Zetland's Voltigeur, 

 winner of the Derby and St. Leger in 1850. " The 

 Druid " {Scott and Sebright^ says that this picture 

 owed its creation to the artist's delight at the 

 friendship that existed between Voltigeur and a 

 tortoise-shell cat. He wished to paint the horse 

 with the cat sitting on his bare back, but was 

 dissuaded by the groom, who showed him that she 

 would not stay there unless the horse had his 

 sheets on. Accordingly Landseer painted Vol- 

 tigeur " with his head down, whispering soft things 

 to his furry friend." This picture, which is life 

 size, was exhibited in 1870 at the Royal Academy. 



During the early sixties, as already said, Land- 

 seer became again the prey of the extreme depres- 

 sion which had attacked him in 1840. It will be 

 observed that the Royal Academy exhibitions of 



