SIR EDWIN HENRY LANDSEER, R.A. (LONDON 1802-1873)

Brutus, a bull terrier, makes numerous appearances in Landseer's early work from around 1815-18. He belonged to Mr W.W. Simpson, an early patron and friend of the Landseer family who commissioned the young Landseer to make drawings of his dog. In a letter of 1818 Landseer wrote to his patron saying he hoped '...that you will like 'the Brutus' as it has been generally admired & thought the best thing I have done on a small scale' (R. Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer, London, 1981, p.3).
From an early age Landseer drew animals with an almost anthropomorphic interest in capturing their character, backed up by his extensive studies of anatomy under Benjamin Robert Haydon.