That’s the title of the Portraits of Dogs exhibition at the Wallace Collection – not nicknames for Martine and Mum. 😆
To clarify, this is not a dog-friendly venue thus you won’t see any pics with me in it. But if you are a dog-lover, you will enjoy this exhibit – according to Mum.
The collection includes 59 dedicated works of paintings, sculptures, drawings, objets d’art and even taxidermy from the past 250 years –
It explores the role of dogs – from gundogs and working dogs, lapdogs to aristocratic and royal dogs, as well as a celebration of the long standing emotional bond between human and their four-legged pooches. They have deliberately left out any humans in the portrait selection.
Some of the paintings introduced a fascinating play between the world of dogs and the world of humans.
In the coming weeks leading up to the Coronation we will be seeing a lot of King Charles Cavaliers (named after King Charles III) on souvenirs.
For centuries the dog had been every British monarch’s best friend. Queen Victoria in particular had her dogs immortalised in portraits and photographs.
Some of the greatest artists, Gainsborough to Hockney to Hogarth immortalised their own animals in art.
Mum noted Jean-Jacques Bachelier’s Dog of the Hanava Breed (1768) – it reminded her of me doing ‘Pretty Please’ – and spotting a top knot aka man bun!
It also illustrates that a bow on the top knot is not just a contemporary trend!!!
From Lucien Freud’s Pluto …
To David Hockney’s dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie – sleeping and lounging on their cushions.
And because I couldn’t be there, Mum wore my sweater!
Mum bought the catalogue for me so I can have a look at the portraits.
May’s comment: It is indeed a relief to know that I am not unusual to have my dogs portrayed in all shapes and mediums! As you know we have our own gallery wall(s) of dog portraits.
Dog portraitures have been in existence for centuries – we’re on trend!
The exhibition ‘Faithful and Fearless: Portraits of Dogs ’ runs until 15 October 2023 at the Wallace Collection. wallacecollection.org – Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
The exhibition showcases major loans from collections such as The British Museum, Tate Modern and The Royal Collection, as well as prominent private collections in the UK.
2 Responses
I loved how you covered this great exhibition! What a wonderful way to celebrate dogs by exploring the beloved canines of history through art! I especially loved the paintings of the Dachshunds because I have a Dachshund/X named Gina. I looked through Amazon and found the book FAITHFUL AND FEARLESS and it was reasonably priced for us readers so far from London!
It’s a lovely book. I hope you’ll enjoy it.