Cattle in a Landscape by Robert William Watson

Cattle in a Landscape

Oil on Canvas, 1895

Montreal Art Centre and Museum's Permanent Collection

About the Artist:

Robert William Watson was born to a large family of artists. The Watson family specialized in animal and landscape portraiture, with their family tree of artists spanning across three generations. Robert was born in Sussex, England in 1855 where he and his two brothers trained under their father and continued on to have successful careers as artists, their work featuring in galleries across the United Kingdom. Robert Watson painted for most of his life, up until his death on the Isle of Man in 1921. Despite his English heritage, Robert Watson’s paintings focused primarily on the Scottish Highland landscapes, featuring sheep and cattle. Cattle in a Landscape is a rich and moving scene capturing the Highland cow as they are in their natural habitat. The Highland cow is symbolic of the Scottish spirit as it is a resilient animal capable of surviving in the rugged and unpredictable Scottish terrain. This painting hangs in the Blue Room on the Second Floor East at the Montreal Centre of Arts alongside other European portraits of the 19th century.

More About the Genre:

Animal Portraits The Victorian Era of 19th century England saw a surge in the popularity of animal portraits. Queen Victoria had a love for animals and the Scottish Highlands which inspired her many commissions of animal paintings in the Highlands. Following suit to the trend and crossing the class boundaries, animal portraits quickly became the go to artwork for both the aristocracy and the middle class. Because of this popularity, artists of this genre were generally well paid and could expect a constant supply of work and steady income. Sir Edwin Landseer was the most popular artist of this genre, having painted numerous commissions for Queen Victoria, he served as an inspiration to British artists.