Beauty and the Beast

For the seventh edition in their Hidden Gems series, Liss Llewellyn are delighted to unveil Beauty and the Beast – an online exhibition dedicated to animals in Modern British Art.

With the discovery of cave paintings in sites such as Lascaux or the Creswell Crags, animals are now considered the earliest known subject of Western Art. Indeed, many artists throughout history have specialised in animal art, and many are now indelibly linked with their depiction of certain species or pets.

Titian was well-known as a painter of dogs (here caricatured by Douglas Percy Bliss); so much so that the Papillon – the breed most associated with his work – is commonly referred to as a Titian Spaniel. Dogs in this exhibition are also shown in more conventional, domestic settings. They are the beloved pets of their artist masters; as in the etched portrait of Robert Austin’s Dalmatian, ‘Ling’, Albert de Belleroche’s ‘Lance’, or Gladys Hynes’ Siamese Cat.

Birds also feature in this menagerie. There is Anna Zinkeisen’s study of a medieval falcon for her mural at the Refectory Club, Mayfair, while the curiously human expression of Winifred Knights Owl recalls the Mystic Lamb of Jan van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece. Elsewhere, the work of two friends and fellow War Artists sharply contrast. Richard Carline was posted to the Middle East during WWI, and painted his Sacred Cows following a stint in India shortly afterwards. No such sign of reverence can be seen in Gilbert Spencer’s Protective Covering, which shows the Grasmere Home Guard using the local sheep as a defensive screen.

Works FEATURED in this Exhibition

Forthcoming
James Woodford (1893 - 1976)
Ram, circa 1950
Forthcoming
Douglas Percy Bliss (1900 - 1984)
Titian
Rachel Reckitt (1908 - 1995)
Matador, c. 1955
£14,000
Anna Zinkeisen (1901 - 1976)
A Hooded Falcon, circa 1955
£2,950
Sold
Winifred Knights (1899 - 1947)
Owl, circa 1922
Forthcoming
Gilbert Spencer (1892 - 1979)
Two calves, 1930
On Loan
Gilbert Spencer (1892 - 1979)
Protective Covering
On Loan
Albert de Belleroche (1864 - 1944)
Lance at Dunain House
Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe R.A. (1901 - 1979)
Stallion and Groom, the original block, circa 1935
£12,000
Private
Winifred Knights (1899 - 1947)
Self Portrait as Little Miss Muffet, June 1918
Forthcoming
Clare Leighton (1898 - 1989)
Hog Killing, 1942
Sold
Eric Ravilious (1903 - 1942)
Tirzah on a cockerel, 1931
Robert Austin (1895 - 1973)
Ling of Lingard, 1936 (CD 115)
£390
James Woodford (1893 - 1976)
Norwich Market Prize Winning Pig, circa 1950
£895
Raymond Sheppard (1913 - 1958)
Monarch of the Glen, circa 1935
£1,250