Sheepdog rescuing a sheep from the snow – charcoal drawing after Landseer, signed J.W. Simpson, c. 1900

Victorian drawing of a sheepdog with a sheep in the snow – after Sir Edwin Landseer

An atmospheric English charcoal drawing on tinted paper, heightened with white chalk. A rough-coated Scottish sheepdog has dug a sheep out of a snowdrift and keeps anxious watch over the exhausted animal. The scene is a faithful version of the painting ‘Highland Shepherd’s Dog in the Snow’ by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802–1873), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1834 and subsequently published several times as a print, including as ‘Snowdrift’ and ‘The Rescue’. Through those prints the image became hugely popular in the Victorian era. Many draughtsmen made their own version of it.

The drawing is signed ‘J.W. Simpson’ at lower right (photo 4). A namesake is the Scottish artist Joseph William Simpson (1879–1939), but he was known mainly as a portraitist and illustrator; as we have found no comparable animal study by his hand, we do not attribute the drawing to him.

Provenance: original frame from Liverpool

The drawing is still in its original wooden frame with mount. On the back, old newspaper with advertisements for Ray & Miles, the well-known cabinetmakers and house furnishers on London Road in Liverpool, was used as filling and backing material. This suggests the drawing was framed in the north-west of England around 1900.

Why we chose this piece

It is a moving image, drawn with great feeling: the dog’s coat is built up in fine lines and the snow is set down with a few strokes of white chalk. A true Victorian story for your wall, in the frame in which it has hung for more than a hundred years.

Style and interior

Suits an English country house, classic or brocante interior, and makes a lovely gift for a lover of dogs or of Scotland.

Dimensions: 75 cm wide, 61 cm high, 2 cm deep (including frame)
Technique: charcoal and graphite with white chalk on tinted paper
Signature: lower right ‘J.W. Simpson’
Subject: after Sir Edwin Landseer
Period: c. 1890–1910
Origin: England (framed in Liverpool)
Condition: in original condition. The mount has damp stains at lower left and at the top and is slightly discoloured (photo 1); the paper of the drawing shows small spots (foxing), in keeping with its age. The wooden frame shows signs of age. The back is closed with old wooden boards with remnants of paper (photo 5); the drawing has not been removed from the frame.

Price:
€ 345 – doe gerust een bod

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