The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner
Engraver Timothy Cole American
After Sir Edwin Henry Landseer British
Not on view
Cole's wood-engraving is based upon one of Landseer's most celebrated paintings which was exhibited to great acclaim at the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 1837 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London). The simple subject of a sheep dog resting its head on the coffin of its master in a rustic interior was immensely popular. The influential art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) considered the work one of the ''most perfect poems. ... which modern times have seen.'' Many prints after the painting were published including, as here, a few after Landseer's death in 1873. These range greatly in size and medium, and include several mixed method prints issued in the 1860s. This one by Cole was probably among the last made after the sentimental subject.
