Doubtful Crumbs

This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy of 1859. A black and tan terrier looks longingly at a bone guarded by a dozing St Bernard. Landseer’s ability to humanise his animals was one of the principal causes of his success with collectors and the Victorian public. The humorous juxtaposition of two dogs of very different sizes was the subject of several of his pictures, notably 'Dignity and Impudence' (by 1839, London, Tate).