c. 1866-1872

He is Saved

Heroic rescue dogs found a staunch advocate in the English artist Sir Edwin Landseer. His paintings of Newfoundland dogs rushing to the aid of humans in distress were so popular that the distinctive black-and-white variety of the breed he featured now officially bears his name. In the late 1850s, engraved prints were issued in England reproducing Landseer’s portrait of the celebrated rescue dog Bashaw, seen in To the Rescue (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1977-297-131) and his painting Saved, which tells the touching story of a young child dragged from the surf by a trusty water dog. In the United States, Currier & Ives later popularized versions of these same images.