‘Portraits of Dogs from Gainsborough to Hockney’, a new show at the Wallace Collection, London, explores how canine companions have been depicted from the 17th century until today. From the fetching to the fur-raising, and the downright regal, the show explores how artists over the ages have taken their beloved dogs as muses. Here, dogs steal the limelight, with the exhibition curation prioritising pawtraits without human presence.
This niche, yet apparently ageless genre, has more history than most, with dogs depicted in some of the earliest cave paintings alongside humans 8,000 years ago.
