Physical Dimensions: overall: 97.8 x 131.5 cm (38 1/2 x 51 3/4 in.)
framed: 123.2 x 159.4 x 12.7 cm (48 1/2 x 62 3/4 x 5 in.)
Provenance: Commissioned 1729 by Louis XV, King of France [1710-1774].[1] (anonymous dealer, London); purchased c. 1944 by Peter Coats, Kelvedon Hall, Brentwood, Essex, and London;[2] purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene V. Thaw, New York, by 1977; gift 1994 to the NGA.
[1] This painting is related to a group of portraits of dogs belonging to Louis XV and destined for the royal chateau at Compiègne. For its early history, see Georges de Lastic, "Desportes et Oudry, Peintres des chasses royales," _Connoisseur_ 196 (December 1977): 294, and Hal Opperman, _J-B Oudry, 1686-1755_, exh. cat., Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1983: 126-127.
[2] Peter Coats describes how he purchased the painting from a Sloane Street shop that had been bombed during World War II. See his letter to Eugene Thaw, dated 29 August 1984, in NGA curatorial files.