No. 1004 Fitz the Fairing Staffordshire Poodle and his Portrait

This is Fitz, an antique English Staffordshire Poodle with confetti fur on an orange cushion. He would have been a prize awarded at fairs, known as a "fairing", c.1850, 2.25" x 1.25" x 2.75". His portrait is in oils on a vintage English plate in a light blue with deep pink transferware floral sprigs, 8"x1".

THE HISTORY: In the 19th century, Staffordshire spaniels kept watch on countless English hearths, creamy white earthenware dogs with gilt chains and solemn, slightly startled eyes. Modelled on the King Charles spaniels beloved by Queen Victoria, they were mass-produced in the potteries of Staffordshire and sold as facing pairs for the mantel, window sill, or bedside table. Time has left each dog with its own chips, crazing, and quirks of expression, which are the tiny survivors of Victorian domestic life.

THE COLLECTION: These paintings pair antique Staffordshire spaniels with their own oil portraits, as if the mantelpiece dogs have finally sat for the grand canvases they deserve.  In these paintings, I treat them as sitters: patient, dignified, and a little absurd, their portraits turning a familiar piece of English folk pottery into a family of minor household deities.