House & Hound: April 21, 2015 The Fortnightly

Event

House and Hound: Dogs in the English Country House
While many people focus on humans depicted in portraits upon English country house walls, it is the four-legged canine occupants of stately homes that are considered de rigueur members of a countryside retreat. From gaunt greyhounds shown in early English tapestries to pampered pooches whose beds have the same Colefax & Fowler chintz as their mistress' sofas, dogs in country houses command a place in history themselves. Depictions of hunting dogs and family pets are everywhere in English country house collections including sculptures, textiles, tapestries, plasterwork, and on tableware or porcelain. Canine accoutrements include splendidly wrought silver and gold collars, dog bowls, and kennels designed by architects. Some bereft owners immortalized their pets' passing with modest gravestones in pet cemeteries or sculpted garden monuments. Whether country squire's dogs at English manor houses, members of hunting packs on grand estates, or dogs from the royal households, this illustrated lecture considers the cultural influence and artistic legacy of the English country house dog.
$105 Royal Oak & English-Speaking Union members* | $110 non-members
RSVP required by April 14: www.royal-oak.org | 800-913-6565, ext. 201
*ESU members use co-sponsor code: 15SESUC to receive the discount price

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