"Did you know that there are over three hundred words for love in canine?" -Gabrielle Zevin, Elsewhere
In this period of time, individual pictures of animals were not particularly common. The demand was mainly in portraits, though often commissioners requested that their loving pet be painted along with them.
Charles Willson Peale, The Peale Family, 1773–1809, New York Historical Society.
"An important early American painter, Charles Willson Peale created this ambitious work to demonstrate his prowess in portraiture—as a sort of advertisement, if you will. The painting shows Peale, his family, and the tools of his trade. The family dog, Argus—named for Odysseus’s loyal pet in Homer’s Odyssey—was actually a later addition to the piece. Painted in some 35 years later, Argus signifies the importance of fidelity, completing a series of classical allusions in the scene that also include learning and grace." [http://news.artnet.com/art-world/historys-20-greatest-puppy-artworks-10726]
"An important early American painter, Charles Willson Peale created this ambitious work to demonstrate his prowess in portraiture—as a sort of advertisement, if you will. The painting shows Peale, his family, and the tools of his trade. The family dog, Argus—named for Odysseus’s loyal pet in Homer’s Odyssey—was actually a later addition to the piece. Painted in some 35 years later, Argus signifies the importance of fidelity, completing a series of classical allusions in the scene that also include learning and grace." [http://news.artnet.com/art-world/historys-20-greatest-puppy-artworks-10726]
Baby with Rattle and Dog, 1842, Mrs. Moses B. Russell, watercolor and gouache on ivory, The Metropolitan Museum of Art"Clarissa Peters Russell painted miniatures in Boston between 1836 and 1854. A highly productive artist, her portraits have often been misattributed because she occasionally worked with her husband, also a miniaturist, and often signed his name to her works, perhaps in the interest of developing the family business rather than an independent career. Here her hand is unmistakable: the baby's intricate gown, meticulous beaded coral necklace, striated foreground, and use of the ivory as a halo for the child's head display her delicate technique at its fullest. The infant is enthroned on an ornate tasseled pillow by a fluted column with climbing vines and drapery. The artist developed a particular expertise and a devoted following for her likenesses of women and children, many of which were memorials. This baby and the mischievous dog that plays with the coral rattle are very much alive, making this miniature a rare, exuberant example of her work." [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1999.6]
Barn with Livestock, Susan C. M. Waters
"Perhaps driven by a change in public demand for fashionable paintings as parlor ornaments, Waters began to paint primarily animals; still lifes; maritime & landscapes; & religious images. This shift in her practice may be evidence of Waters’ ongoing artistic development. Like other late 19th century still-life, some of her works depict objects hung on boards & doors, in a realistic manner. In several instances she combined traditional fruit subjects with incidental animals such as rabbits & squirrels. Waters real specialty, however, was painting farm animals, cattle & particularly sheep. She kept sheep in a pen behind her house." [http://bjws.blogspot.com/2013_11_11_archive.html]
"Perhaps driven by a change in public demand for fashionable paintings as parlor ornaments, Waters began to paint primarily animals; still lifes; maritime & landscapes; & religious images. This shift in her practice may be evidence of Waters’ ongoing artistic development. Like other late 19th century still-life, some of her works depict objects hung on boards & doors, in a realistic manner. In several instances she combined traditional fruit subjects with incidental animals such as rabbits & squirrels. Waters real specialty, however, was painting farm animals, cattle & particularly sheep. She kept sheep in a pen behind her house." [http://bjws.blogspot.com/2013_11_11_archive.html]
The Hunter Dogs, Gilbert Stuart, oil painting on canvas, 1769, Preservation Society of Newport County