Sir Edwin Landseer RA, Portrait of Henry Landseer, uncle of Edwin

Portrait of Henry Landseer, uncle of Edwin, ca.1810

Sir Edwin Landseer RA (1802 - 1873)

RA Collection: Art

Sir Edwin Landseer began to draw at a very young age and most of his early drawings are of animals. However, he also sketched buildings, landscapes, figures and other subjects. According to theVictorian art critic James Dafforne, visitors to the 1874 Landseer exhibition at the Royal Academy were surprised to find that the display of the artist's early drawings featured not only sketches of animals but also of 'figures, landscapes and architectural 'bits' '.

As a student of Benjamin Robert Haydon from 1815 and at the RA schools from August 1816, Landseer also studied anatomy, life-drawing and Greek and Roman sculpture. He became an accomplished portraitist in later years although he was never enthusiastic about this genre. As the artist explained to the Duke of Devonshire in 1854, he was only interested in portraits when 'combined with the picturesque or with a sort of Story'.

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Object details

Title
Portrait of Henry Landseer, uncle of Edwin
Artist/designer
Sir Edwin Landseer RA (1802 - 1873)
Date
ca.1810
Object type
Drawing
Medium
Pencil on cream laid (?) paper
Dimensions

122 mm x 117 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
02/42
Acquisition
Given by Sir John Aird 1883
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