{"id":832701,"date":"2026-07-29T02:17:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T02:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/832701\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T02:17:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T02:17:46","slug":"the-best-pet-portrait-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/832701\/","title":{"rendered":"The best pet portrait artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long before Instagram made minor celebrities of tabby cats and teacup dachshunds, humans were already immortalising their animals in paint and stone. The Egyptians carved cats on tomb walls beside their pharaohs; Van Dyck slipped spaniels into the corners of royal portraits as though they too deserved to be recorded for posterity; and Sir Edwin Landseer built an entire Victorian career on painting soulful-eyed stags and devoted terriers, eventually lending his name to the lion sculptures he designed for the base of Nelson\u2019s Column in Trafalgar Square.<\/p>\n

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\"IllustrationA Distinguished Member of the Humane Society (1838) by Sir Edwin LandseerPhotograph by H Armstrong Roberts\/ClassicStock\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Victoria, ever the trendsetter, commissioned multiple portraits of her dogs and horses. Today\u2019s version of that tradition comes with a WhatsApp<\/a> thread, a folder of phone photos (a recent Samsung survey found that on average we have 20 per cent more pictures of our pets than our partners) and \u2014 if you\u2019re very indulgent \u2014 a five-figure invoice.<\/p>\n

\"PaintingQueen Victoria at Osborne (1865-67) by Sir Edwin Landseerroyal collection trust\/\u00a9 his majesty king charles iii 2024<\/p>\n

The modern pet portrait industry ranges from \u00a320 watercolour \u201cteeny illustrations\u201d to \u00a325,000 bronze sculptures with a 17-month waiting list, and its practitioners are unanimous on one point: this is no longer a niche indulgence. \u201cCulturally we see more people treat their pets as a part of the family,\u201d says Christian Tucci<\/a>, a Los Angeles-based artist who works in coloured pencil and oil (from $250 to $1,000).<\/p>\n

However, he\u2019s less enamoured with the vocabulary that has crept in alongside the sentiment. \u201cWe hear an expression I detest \u2014 fur baby \u2014 to describe pets far too often,\u201d he says. Word choice aside, he\u2019s seen the effect on his order book: \u201cI notice many more people interested in higher-end artwork of their pets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChristianChristian TucciChristian Tucci<\/p>\n

\"CollageA Dobermann and a French bulldog by Christian Tuccichristian tucci<\/p>\n

For sheer material extravagance the crown belongs to the sculptor\u00a0Tanya Russell<\/a>, whose foundry-bronze and bronze-resin commissions run from \u00a37,800 to \u00a325,000, with a waiting list stretching back well over a year. Her clients aren\u2019t just paying for the metal. \u201cSmall sculptures take nearly the same amount of time to sculpt as large ones,\u201d she says, and a unique statue \u201ccosts three to four times more\u201d than one released as part of a limited edition \u2014 the sculpture equivalent of a bespoke suit versus one off the rack.<\/p>\n

\"TanyaTanya Russell working on a labradoodle, a boxer and a Jack Russell terrier<\/p>\n

The luxury end of the market is vividly illustrated in the studio of the London-based artist\u00a0Alice Hawthorn<\/a> (\u00a320-\u00a3500), who has painted on watercolour paper, leather, glass, whisky bottles, Christmas baubles and, memorably, a client\u2019s handbag.<\/p>\n

\"ArtistAlice Hawthorn at work<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

\u201cI once painted a dear little dog called Poo onto a Ferragamo handbag; I used gold and silver leather paint for highlights,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThat was nerve-racking but Poo\u2019s owner was thrilled with the result.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AAlice Hawthorn painted a dog portrait on a Ferragamo bag<\/p>\n

Hawthorn\u2019s client list has also brushed up against celebrity: a King Charles cavalier spaniel mug she designed to mark the 2023 coronation ended up at Buckingham Palace via a friend, prompting a formal thank-you letter from the Palace itself. \u201cNo matter how famous or wealthy a person may be, our love of our dogs and cats levels us. We\u2019re just so lucky to have them in our lives,\u201d Hawthorn says.<\/p>\n

Every artist interviewed circled back to the same starting point for their work: the eyes. Tucci begins every portrait there, insisting that \u201cgetting the sparkle of the eyes just right conveys so much personality\u201d. Hawthorn agrees, saying she feels she gets to know a pet properly only once she\u2019s drawn them. Russell, working in clay and bronze rather than colours, talks instead about capturing \u201cthe composite experience of a life lived\u201d, rather than a single frozen photograph.<\/p>\n

However, the American artist Johanne Mangi<\/a>\u00a0(POA) recalls painting a rescued cocker spaniel who had lost both eyes to disease. \u201cThe finished painting depicted her so well that you didn\u2019t notice she had no eyes,\u201d she says. Mangi has spent more than 15 years arguing that dog portraiture deserves to be taken as seriously as any other genre of fine art. \u201cArtists used to be embarrassed to admit they painted pet portraits,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to change the perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JohanneJohanne Mangi in her studioJohanne Mangi<\/p>\n

\"IllustrationJohanne Mangi<\/p>\n

Just as with a portrait of a human, behind every finished pet portrait is an intricate process. Tucci\u2019s begins on Instagram<\/a>, where he establishes which medium a client wants \u2014 coloured pencil or oil \u2014 before asking for reference material. He\u2019s learnt to be precise about how he asks for it. \u201cI specifically request three to five photos that the client loves of their pet. Wording it that way, I tend to get reference photos with better lighting and more personality,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Hawthorn runs a similar operation from London. \u201cMuch of the time my job is so light-hearted and funny,\u201d she says. \u201cI painted Barnaby the cockapoo with the baguette in his mouth that he likes to carry home from the boulangerie in the French village where he summers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TanyaTanya Russell working on a clay model<\/p>\n

For Russell as a sculptor the process is closer to a consultation for a piece of architecture. Once a client commits she asks for something most photographers would recoil at: the bad photos. \u201cWe treat pets much like we treat ourselves in selfies,\u201d she says, \u201cand we vet \u2014 no pun intended \u2014 their photos to ensure only the best are kept for posterity.\u201d She wants the opposite \u2014 shots of tummies, paw pads, the underside of the chin \u2014 because a sculpture, unlike a painting, has to be convincing from every angle. Where possible she also takes physical measurements, starting with the height at the shoulder, though she says that a St Bernard \u201cmay have very definite opinions about being measured\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mangi\u2019s process involves \u201clong conversations, numerous images and videos of the dog\u201d, and where possible live sittings \u2014 she keeps several dogs of her own on hand to pose as stand-ins when a client\u2019s pet isn\u2019t available. \u201cYou must have empathy for your subject. I trust my intuition and ability to go beyond the obvious to capture their spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BronzePointing Weimaraner by Tanya Russell<\/p>\n

Russell shares a similar sentiment when explaining the growing popularity of pet portraits today: \u201cWe are honouring them not just as working animals but also more as partners and family. The pet portrait is one little piece of a wider experience that is now nearly universal. That journey is one of happiness, followed by loss and grief, and with time that moment when only our good memories and our gratefulness to them remain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten famous pet portraits through history<\/p>\n

Cave Canem (Beware of the Dog) mosaic, Pompeii (1st century AD)<\/p>\n

\"Roman<\/p>\n

A Roman family\u2019s watchdog was immortalised nearly 2,000 years ago at the threshold of the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, proving people have proudly celebrated their pets since antiquity.<\/p>\n

The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) by Jan van Eyck<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

The tiny fluffy dog at the couple\u2019s feet is one of art history\u2019s most famous canine companions, symbolising loyalty while quietly stealing the scene.<\/p>\n

Portrait of a Noblewoman with a Lapdog (c 1580) by Lavinia Fontana<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

One of the earliest portraits where a pampered pet becomes part of the sitter\u2019s personality \u2014 symbolising her status as a good and faithful wife \u2014 not just a decorative accessory.<\/p>\n

The Painter and His Pug (1745) by William Hogarth<\/p>\n

\"PaintingPhoto Tate<\/p>\n

Hogarth cheekily painted himself alongside his pug Trump, suggesting the two shared the same stubborn character.<\/p>\n

Princess Victoria and Dash (1833) by Sir George Hayter<\/p>\n

\"Illustrationroyal collection trust\/\u00a9 his majesty king charles iii 2024<\/p>\n

Queen Victoria adored her King Charles spaniel so much that he was immortalised many times on canvas. Dash received a grand tomb when he died in 1840 and became Britain\u2019s most famous royal pet.<\/p>\n

The Old Shepherd\u2019s Chief Mourner (1837) by Sir Edwin Landseer <\/p>\n

\"Illustrationvictoria & albert museum, london<\/p>\n

A loyal collie grieving beside its master\u2019s coffin became one of history\u2019s most moving tributes to the bond between humans and dogs.<\/p>\n

The Bride and Groom (late 19th century) by Louis Wain<\/p>\n

\"Illustrationheritage images\/Getty images<\/p>\n

Louis Wain\u2019s beloved cat Peter inspired an artistic phenomenon that helped transform cats from mousers into adored household celebrities. His feline work recently inspired a doodle-strewn collection from Loewe.<\/p>\n

Archie and Amos (1976) by Andy Warhol<\/p>\n

\"IllustrationArchie\u00a9 Andy Warhol<\/p>\n

\"IllustrationAmos\u00a9 Andy Warhol<\/p>\n

Warhol was another artist who adored his dachshunds and revealed the softer side behind the pop art glamour by immortalising them in his signature style.<\/p>\n

Puppy (1992) by Jeff Koons <\/p>\n

\""Puppy,"photograph by Cristina Arias\/Cover\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Standing more than 40ft tall and covered in flowers, this giant West Highland terrier, permanently installed outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is arguably the world\u2019s biggest version of a faithful hound.<\/p>\n

Stanley and Boodgie, Horizontal Dogs (1995) by David Hockney<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

Hockney<\/a> painted his dachshunds Stanley and Boodgie so often that they became some of the most recognisable dogs in contemporary art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long before Instagram made minor celebrities of tabby cats and teacup dachshunds, humans were already immortalising their animals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":832702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-832701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}