Since the Breed Became Distinct, the Scottish Terrier Has Been a Popular

TTTHHHEEE SSSCCCOOOTTTTTTIIISSSHHH TTTEEERRRRRRIIIEEERRR IIINNN AAARRRTTT::: i AAA HHHIIISSSTTTOOORRRIIICCC RRREEEVVVIIIEEEWWW updated 12/07 By Dr. Vandra L. Huber, McVan® Scottish Terriers Since the breed became distinct in the early 1800s, the Scottish Terrier has been a popular subject of artists. The artistic allure of the Scottish Terrier can be attributed to three factors, namely the physical appearance, the demeanor, and the mystic of the Scottish Terrier. Here we have a dog that is geometric in shape – a juxtaposition of squares, rectangles, and triangles -- with comedic proportions. Consider the long rectangular head which tips out from the off-square body. Fringed in hair, the head appears as long –if not longer – than the dog is tall. We also have a short, stout body that is planted atop stubby, strong legs. A kilt of hair shrouds all with a carrot of a tail peeking out at the rear. Rectangular ears protrude atop the head, a triangle front and rear provides the balanced look with “as much out front as behind.” The domains, in which the Scottish Terrier worked, lived and played provided fruitful ground in which to draw artistic inspiration. The Scottish Terrier was powerful enough to hunt and to kill vermin when on rounds with the Todhunter. Romping, playing and hunting in the stables, he could hold his own. As a member of Queen’s court, he was equally tenacious when claiming his spot atop a favorite pillow. But a Scot was also a beloved companion to aristocrats and peasants alike. He was and still is gentle enough to sense an owner’s moods, silly enough to sleep upside down and loving enough to kiss away tears. A study in contrasts, rendering the Scottish Terrier presents a challenge to the artist. The multi-faceted nature of a Scot, is difficult to understand, let along capture in a two dimensional drawing. While many artists take up the challenge, few have done so successfully. The remainder of this article is devoted to the artists who have successfully seen into the soul of our beloved Scottish Terriers and captured their essence on paper or on canvas. George Armfield (1808-1893) Early art depicted Scottish Terriers doing what they were bred to do, namely working a quarry, killing a prey or playing in the barnyard and stables of Scotland and England. One of the earliest artists to capture terriers generally, and Scottish Terriers specifically was George Armfield Smith (going by George Armfield). Armfield was born in 1 Wales into a family of artists. His father (William), brother (William), and cousin (Edwin) were all painters of note. Armfield’s talents as a painter were not originally noted. His father, in fact, apprenticed him to a maker of fish tackle. However, he persevered and eventually attracted the attention of several notable patrons who provided Armfield with enough financial security to pursue painting full time. A prolific painter, Armfield’s paintings depicted terriers in small groups chasing bird, cats or mice or playing in barnyards. Armfield is known for telling a visual story with his work. In the picture shown here, we see a Scottish Terrier and a Dandi dinmont terrier stalking a small mouse. Here we have two adamant terriers in hot pursuit of a mouse. The mouse escapes his attackers – but just barely – as it dives into a hole by the upturned basket (far right). Other works of Armfield depict terriers with dead prey (rabbits and birds) near a quarry holes or running along side other barnyard animals. His works are important because they show the inter-relatedness of the breeds. Scottish Terriers, Black and Tans, Cairns, and West Highland White Terriers frolic together. While each is distinct, the similarities are striking. A prolific artist, Armfield’s works are technically exacting. However, because he was so prolific, there is a sense of reputation to his work. Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) Queen Victoria is noted for her love of animals and in particular dogs. While not a breeder, she owned numerous terrier breeds including Manchesters, Skye Terriers and Scottish Terriers. Queen Victoria’s dogs provided her with great solace and generally more comfort than the humans in her court. She insisted upon surrounding herself with visual reminders of her favorite pets painted by notable artists of the British School. A patron of many canine artists (Landseer, Charles Burton Barber, and Maud Earl), she can be credited with moving dog art in a new direction. Rather than depicting terriers and sporting dogs at work, Queen Victoria was especially fond of portraitures of her favored canine companions.ii Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) was one of the queen’s favorite artists. Considered a London sporting artist, Landseer was commissioned frequently to paint Queen Victoria’s dogs. Although a brilliant painter of animals, Landseer pandered to the Victorian taste for monkey pictures, comical dogs, and excessive sentiment. Depicted here is his famous Comic Dogs in which a Scottish Terrier (right) and a silky terrier are instilled with anthropomorphic characteristics (pipe and hats). Notice the lighter (tan) coloring on the chest, paws, and beard of the Scottish Terrier. Traces of the old black and tan terrier were still evident when this was painted in the late 1800s. 2 John Emms (1843-1912) A noted sports and hunting enthusiast, John Emms (1843-1912) was another important portrait artist in the late 1800s. Emms style was much looser than that of other painters of the period. Emms’ palette was distinct, featuring a lot of rich browns and ochers with undertones of blue and gray. As the two pictures show, he utilized broad brush strokes which gave his portraits a distinct, loose feeling which matched his bohemian life style. Emms works are among the earliest in which the depicted Scottish Terrier resembles the breed as we see it today. Notice, however, that furnishings are much shorter, the tail swings out at two o’clock rather than high noon. Still, Em’s renditions of a Scottish Terrier show the broad front, off square back and parallel head planes as part of a blocky rectangular head. One might fault the dogs, hopping for more fill in the muzzle and straighter front legs (both are problems that persist today). Maud Earl (1864-1943) Maud Earl (1864-1943) was one of only a handful of female Victorian artists. She was the daughter and only child of George Earl, an artist famous for his paintings of the sporting pastimes. As a child she was more interested in music than in art but her father taught her the craft. Specializing in dog paintings, she exhibited her work at the Royal Academy from 1884 to 1901 as well as held one woman shows at London's Graves Gallery in 1897, 1902 and1903. Her work became highly sought after and her more illustrious clients included Queen Victoria and King Edward VII and for many 3 members of the court and their relatives. Meeting Victorian demand, Earl was most known for her dog portraits. In fact, she painted some of the mos famous dogs of the blossoming British dog show circuit. She never painted from photographs. Rather she preferred to pose the canine subject on a sort of portable stool on castors which made it easy to move around them. In describing the task of painting she noted that “you can’t paint dogs unless you understand them…Yo must know if they are happy and comfortable, and if not why not. You must know how to quiet them.”iii In th painting depicted here, the Scottish Terrier is pictured in a watchful repose -- looking back up the stairs. Perh the Scot heard a sound, a stair squeak or his master moving about upstairs Regarding conformation, there is little trace left of the old black and tan markings. There is, however, some brindling in the coat. In a later 1903 picture A Ruling from the Chair, Maud Earl depicts two wheaten Scotti Terriers “owned by Lady Angela Forbes playfully watching a kitty perched on a chair. This painting is in the collection of the American Kennel Club and is one of the earliest known paintings of wheaten Scottish Terrie rather than West Highland White Terriers. Lillian Cheviot (1884-1934) Particularly noted for paintings of a Scottish Terrier with either a West Highland White or Sealyham terrier, Lillian Cheviot was another late 19th/early 20th century artist. She is recorded as living in Thorpe, East Molesey, in Surrey, England, and later in Kensington. She studied at Frank Calderon’s School of Animal Painting, South Kensington, and Mrs Walter Donne’s Life School. While not as popular as Emms and Earl, Cheviot specialized in the portrayal of dogs as well as horses.. Her style was unique in that the dogs were often large in the composition and their expressions were usually exaggerated to such an extent that the dogs appear to stare directly at the viewer (Note the light brown piercing eyes of the Scot). In contrast, the backgrounds of her paintings were effused with soft, pastel colors spread out by flowing brush strokes. Like Fanny Moody Cheviot used dogs in World War I, patriotic art. The coloured lithograph “Wake Up England”, depicted bulldog asleep by a Union Jack. Another patriotic work published in 1915 by the sporting picture dealers, Arthur Ackerman & Son, titled “Come Over Here”, depicting the English Bulldog, Scottish Terrier, and Irish Terrier, standing by the Dover cliffs. “Scots Tried and True” depicts three Scottish Terriers, and another such work of a Scottish Terrier and West Highland Terrier seated on the Union Jack continued the themeiv She prefer to paint small breeds so Scottish terriers, west highland white terriers and Sealyhams were favorite subjects.

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