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Maud Earl: Dog Painter

© Jen Longshaw

The Victorian era was a male dominated world where women had great trouble being taken seriously as artists. Relegated to a genteel pastime suitable for young females waiting for marriage painting was never seriously considered as a profession. However one woman excelled in her chosen field and animal lovers on both sides of the Atlantic eagerly commissioned her work.

Maud Earl was born in London, England in 1864 the daughter and only child of George Earl, an artist famous for his paintings of the sporting pastimes so favoured by the aristocracy. With such an illustrious parent it is no surprise that Maud should have shown an early aptitude for art and in fact her father actively encouraged her interest by becoming her first teacher. He set her to study and draw from the skeletons of man, dog and horse in order to improve her knowledge of anatomy and the accuracy of her painting. As Maud would later confidently state this training stood her in good stead "It is for this reason that I have been able to hold my place among the best of dog painters; no one has ever touched me in my knowledge of anatomy".

Specializing in dog paintings she exhibited her work at the Royal Academy from 1884 to 1901 as well as having one woman shows at London's Graves Gallery in 1897, 1902 and 1903. Her work became highly sought after and her more illustrious clients included Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. In fact one of Earl's most famous works was a painting of the King's wire-haired fox terrier "Caesar" whom she painted on two occasions, the second of which she pictured him mourning the death of his beloved master.

Establishing a studio in Paris in 1908 Earl spent several years immortalizing the pets of notables of French society but in the 1920s she moved to New York where she again found a ready market for her work. Around the turn of the century her paintings were reproduced by engraving which ensured that her art was bought to the attention of an even wider audience. Not only were her paintings much loved by dog enthusiasts but also they served as a valuable record of the many canine breeds. After amassing a fine body of sensitive and evocative work Earl died in 1943 in New York, New York.

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