The British love of animals.(George Stubbs, Thomas Gainsborough)(Brief article)

Two exhibitions currently on view examine aspects of the British passion for animals. The first, at the recently renovated Gainsborough's House in Sudbury, Suffolk, until December 16, is entitled Gainsborough's Dogs. This is an aspect of Gainsborough's work that has not been explored previously and the show brings together twenty-six paintings, drawings, and prints many of which have rarely, if ever, been on public view. Man's best friend has played a prominent role in Western art, especially since the Middle Ages. In the eighteenth century Gainsborough was one of a number of major artists, including George Stubbs, Jean Baptiste Oudry, and Jean Baptiste Huet, from whom images of dogs were often commissioned.

The show is curated by Diane Perkins, the director of Gainsborough's House, and she is the author of the ...