Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A.

The present drawing probably depicts one of the Scottish ghillies or gamekeepers that Landseer would have known and for whom the artist had enormous respect. He admired their deep knowledge and understanding of the landscape in which they lived and the animals that inhabited it, and they often formed the subject of his paintings and drawings. He painted the 4^th Duke of Atholl's gamekeeper, John Crerar, on several occasions, including a portrait of him with his pony (now in the Perth Museum and Art Gallery) and other images of him together with the Duke of Atholl.

Landseer's ability to capture the character as well as the appearance of the sitter with a few deft strokes of the pen is amply illustrated in the present drawing.

This drawing (and lot 199) was once in the collection of F.R. Lee, a fellow Royal Academician and friend of Landseer, with whom he shared a love of shooting and fishing.