A White Terrier by a Mossy Bank with Flowers

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A White Terrier by a Mossy Bank with Flowers

Artist William James Webbe (English, 1827- ca. 1878)

Place of OriginEngland

Date1871

DimensionsH: 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm); W: 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm)

MediumOpaque glue-based paint, followed by resinous glazing, and brush, perhaps pen, on heavy off-white paper

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Florence Scott Libbey, by exchange

Object number

2007.49

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 32

Label TextA little known painter, an extinct dog breed: one very alluring painting. The subject matter of William Webbe’s few surviving works includes animals, genre scenes, and topographical landscapes. In this meticulously painted canvas, seemingly every hair on the animal, every blade of grass, and every blossom is captured with microscopic focus and a hyper-clarity bordering on the fantastic. The distinct charm of Webbe’s image derives from the intensity of his portrait sitter. This clearly is not just any dog. Webbe certainly was painting a portrait from life (or possibly from a photograph) of a specific animal, perhaps a posthumous likeness of a beloved lost friend. Sadly, neither the name of the dog, nor that of its owner, is known. The White English Terrier was established as an official breed in the early 1860s and became popular as a show dog. Renowned for its alertness, the breed quickly became extinct after 1895 when cropping of the ears was outlawed and interest in the breed waned.Published ReferencesMallett Fine Art, catalogue, 2006, p. 39, no. 14, color ill.Comparative ReferencesSee also Jeremy Maas, Victorian Painters (1969), pp. 153-54, 227. See also Allen Staley, The Pre-Raphaelite Landscape, 2nd ed. (2001), pp. 116-19.