Not on display
- Artist
- Sir Edwin Henry Landseer 1802–1873
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 1422 × 1118 mm
Frame: 1815 × 1505 × 130 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Bequeathed by Jacob Bell 1859
- Reference
- N00606
Display caption
This picture was commissioned by Jacob Bell who was one of Landseer’s most important patrons. It portrays Bell’s mare ‘Old Betty’. Bell originally wanted Landseer to depict the mare with her foal. However, Landseer repeatedly put off the commission. By the time he was ready to paint ‘Old Betty’ the foal had outgrown its mother. In introducing a donkey into the composition Landseer was using a device popular with many other animal painters, whereby the donkey’s rough coat is contrasted with the sleekness of the horse.
Gallery label, November 2016
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