Edwin Henry Landseer

LOT 178 PROPERTY FROM A DECEASED ESTATE SIR EDWIN HENRY LANDSEER, R.A. LONDON 1802-1873 A STUDY FOR A HEAD OF A DEER FOR THE CHEVY CHASE together with a Study of the Hind Legs of a Deer Quantity: 2 The first pencil with scratching out, the second pencil; the first signed with the artist's monogram, lower left Each 233 by 170 mm

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A. (London 1802-1873) Study of Rachel (Lady Rachel Russell), half-length, in a green dress, reading a book signed in monogram, inscribed, and dated 'EL/Rachel/July 1 1835' oil on panel 14 x 10 in. (35.5 x 25.4 cm.) (Probably) W.M. Eaton. with Morton Morris & Co., Ltd., London, where acquired by Christian B. Peper, 1985. PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF CHRISTIAN B. PEPER (LOTS 54-59) (Probably) London, Royal Academy of Arts, Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A., winter 1874, no. 332, as 'on canvas'. Landseer, one of the most popular and precocious English artists of the nineteenth century, while best known for his paintings of animals, was also a gifted, albeit reluctant portraitist. Though he considered himself primarily a sporting artist, his portraits -- whether they were of family members hunting, or formal aristocratic images, or pictures of children and their pets and hobbies -- were highly sought-after by Landseer's patrons. The present lot is an especially tender example of the artist's craft. In this case the subject, Lady Rachel Russell (1826-1898), may have had a special significance for Landseer. Rachel, the daughter of Georgina, the second wife of John, sixth Duke of Bedford (1792-1878), was rumored to have been Landseer's and the Duchess' child. While this gossip was never substantiated, Landseer was from 1823 a frequent visitor to Woburn Abbey, the Duke and Duchess's home, and painted her on several occassions. Whatever the true nature of their relationship, they remained close until the Duchess's death in Nice in 1853. Landseer's oil sketch of the young Rachel expresses a pyschological intimacy and stylistic freedom seldom seen in his highly finished formal portraits.

Sir Edwin Landseer R.A. (British, 1802-1873) 'A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society' pencil 25 x 35.5cm (9 13/16 x 14in). Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 Request Condition Report PROVENANCE: Sale; Christie's, London, 8 May 1874, lot 874 Sold with original receipt With Spink and Son, London With the Tryon Gallery, London This is a study for the 1838 exhibit A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society in the Tate. The dog featured in the picture, 'Bob,' reportedly was a stray found in a shipwreck off the coast of England. Bob became celebrated for rescuing twenty three people from drowning on the London waterways. For this he was later made a distinguished member of the Royal Humane Society.

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A. (1802-1873) School boys playing with a pig inscribed 'School Boys.' (lower centre) pen and brown ink, brown wash, on paper 4½ x 6¼ in. (11.4 x 15.8 cm.) with Sabin Galleries, London. L.G. Duke, Esq., C.B.E. (D. 1271); Christie's, London, 29 April1971, lot 95 (48 gns to St. George). The St. George family, Sefton Lodge, Newmarket, and sold with thehouse.

LOT 347 SIR EDWIN HENRY LANDSEER, R.A. LONDON 1802-1873 STUDY OF A GAME KEEPER Black and white chalk, heightened with pastel, pencil andstump; indistinctly inscribed in pencil, lower left: 16 Jin afora;further signed and inscribed on a label attached to the backboard;Sketch by EL in 5 [?] minutes / ...[?] Lodge 1855 359 by 378 mm