Stories Pictures Tell. Book 3

by Flora L. Carpenter

When the painting was finished it was placed on exhibition and hundreds of people came to see it. The owner of the dog, Mr. Newman Smith, was very proud indeed.

Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. Where did Sir Edwin Landseer first see this dog? What did the dog do that pleased the artist very much? Who suggested that he paint this picture? why? Why was Mr. Smith surprised? What was the dog’s name? Where did Paul Pry go to have his picture painted? Tell about Sir Edwin Landseer’s studio. How did Paul Pry behave? Where was he lying when the artist painted his picture? Where did Sir Edwin Landseer imagine the dog to be? What do you suppose made him think of that? How do these dogs save people from drowning? What makes you think there will be a storm? What makes you think the air is sultry? What time of day is it? Why did the artist call the picture “A Member of the Royal Humane Society”?

To the Teacher: Encourage the children to talk about their own pet dogs, and to draw pictures of them, using charcoal and manila paper. The drawings will probably not be worth much in themselves, but the practice will make the children more observant, and will tend to make their later drawings better.

The story of the artist. Sir Edwin Landseer learned how to draw from his father, and when he was but five years old he could draw remarkably well. Edwin had three sisters and two brothers who liked to draw, too. The family lived out in the country and nearly every day at breakfast the father would ask his boys, “What shall we draw to-day?” They would take turns in choosing, and sometimes they would vote on it. Then out across the fields the father and his boys would tramp until they came to where the donkeys, sheep, goats, and cows were grazing. Each would choose the subject he wished to draw, and the four would sit down on the grass and begin to sketch. Edwin’s first choice was a cow and his father helped him draw it. After this Edwin came to these fields every day and his father called them “Edwin’s studio.”

At this time Edwin had three dogs of his own which he called Brutus, Vixen, and Boxer. They were always with him and were so intelligent that they seemed almost able to speak. In the back yard the children had several pens for pet rabbits and they kept pigeons in the attic of their house. Once Mr. Landseer decided to move. He selected a house, and thought all was settled, when he discovered that the landlord would not rent the house to him because he kept so many dogs and other pets.

When Edwin was only thirteen years old two of his pictures were exhibited at the Royal Academy. One was a painting of a mule and the other was of a dog and puppies.

Edwin painted always from real life, not caring to make copies from the work of others. All the sketches he made when he was a little boy were kept very carefully by the father, and now if you go to England you may see them in South Kensington Museum in London.

We read of how the father and his sons made many visits to the Zoölogical Gardens, where they could watch and make sketches of lions, bears, and other wild animals. One day they saw a strange sight in one of the store windows in London—it was a Newfoundland dog caring for a lion. The lion had been caught in Africa when it was very little, and had been cared for by this great Newfoundland dog. They had never been separated, and now, although the lion was much larger than the dog, they were still the best of friends. Sometimes the dog would punish the lion if it did not behave, and the great beast would whimper just as though it could not help itself. All three boys made many sketches of this strange pair, and could hardly be persuaded to leave the window.

Edwin, we are told, was a bright, gentle little boy with blue eyes and light curly hair. When he was fourteen years old he became a pupil at the Royal Academy. The keeper there was an old man. He grew very fond of Edwin. He would look all around and if he could not find him, would say, “Where is my curly-headed dog boy?”

He was only sixteen years old when he exhibited his wonderful picture called “Fighting Dogs Getting Wind.” A very rich man whose praise meant a great deal at that time bought this picture, and Edwin’s success was assured.