This very personal, unsigned oil portrait of a spaniel was obviously painted from life with all the insight and affection a bonded relationship between a canine and a human imparts to both parties. It appears simultaneously in our Folk Art and Animal Collections because, while the artist clearly had some formal training, the sitter’s avidity and mobile concentration appear to be as much the result of the painter's difficulty dealing with a confined space as of artistic intent. Similarly, the dog’s brow has been over-painted in spots indicating that either the paint or the canvas may not have been properly prepared. Misunderstood as the artist’s materials may have been, the sitter obviously was highly-valued. For his or her part, the spaniel remains keenly able to telegraph a vocabulary of trust and affection 150 years after the image was first laid down on canvas. Condition: Image, as described and as found. Frame, some loss to gilding. Dimensions: Image, 5.5" x 7.5". Frame, 8" x 10".