Edwin Landseer
British·1802–1873
English Romantic painter Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) was the most celebrated animal painter of the Victorian era. A child prodigy, he exhibited at the Royal Academy at thirteen and was elected to full membership at 29. His father, an engraver, sent young Edwin to sketch animals in fields at age five or six, believing formal education harmful to artists. He studied under Benjamin Robert Haydon, who encouraged anatomical dissection to understand animal musculature.
Landseer's paintings of horses, dogs, and stags became extraordinarily popular through prints engraved by his brother Thomas. He painted Queen Victoria's pets repeatedly, gave her and Prince Albert etching lessons, and was knighted in 1850. His masterpiece The Monarch of the Glen (1851), depicting a twelve-point red deer stag in Highland mist, became an icon of Scottish Romanticism. Originally commissioned for the Palace of Westminster but rejected due to cost controversies, it sold privately and passed through various collectors before the National Galleries of Scotland acquired it for £4 million in 2017. Landseer also designed the four bronze lions at the base of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.
Notable Works by Edwin Landseer
9 paintings catalogued with museum locations
Museums with Edwin Landseer's Work
4 museums display Landseer's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.
About Edwin Landseer
Landseer was the most celebrated Victorian animal painter, famous for his emotionally expressive depictions of horses, dogs, and Highland stags. His ability to suggest human feelings in animal subjects made his paintings enormously popular as prints in middle-class British homes.
The Monarch of the Glen hangs at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, acquired for £4 million in 2017 after a major fundraising campaign. The painting has become an icon of Scottish identity, reproduced endlessly on shortbread tins and whisky labels.
Landseer designed the four bronze lions at the base of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, unveiled in 1867. His declining health and bouts of mental illness delayed the commission for years, but the lions became beloved London landmarks.
A child prodigy, Landseer exhibited at the Royal Academy at age 13 with drawings of animals. He was elected Associate at 24 and full member at 29, the youngest artist to achieve that honor. His precocious talent made him a celebrity before he turned twenty.
He painted Queen Victoria's pets repeatedly over many years and gave both her and Prince Albert etching lessons. Victoria knighted him in 1850 and visited his studio. Their friendship lasted until his mental health declined in his final years.
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