Items Similar to Exhibited RSA 1862 Portrait of Girl with Dogs Blossom and Bob
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 25
Gourlay SteellExhibited RSA 1862 Portrait of Girl with Dogs Blossom and Bob1861
1861
$10,000
$12,50020% Off
£7,630.27
£9,537.8420% Off
€8,680.01
€10,850.0120% Off
CA$14,043.24
CA$17,554.0520% Off
A$15,368.64
A$19,210.7920% Off
CHF 8,120.97
CHF 10,151.2220% Off
MX$183,434.83
MX$229,293.5420% Off
NOK 103,633.76
NOK 129,542.2120% Off
SEK 94,781.51
SEK 118,476.8920% Off
DKK 64,835.14
DKK 81,043.9220% Off
About the Item
Portrait of Girl and Dogs is signed and dated 1861 and exhibited in 1862 is by Gourlay Steell, (1819-1894) RSA, appointed as Animal Painter for Scotland to Queen Victoria’s Court after Sir Edwin Landseer. Exhibited this painting in the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh 1862 catalogue number 593. The artist signature, date, pet names and name of the girl, are inscribed verso.
The inscription verso is believed to be by the artist’s own hand. A typewritten exhibition label verso is from the exhibition in 1862 at the Royal Scottish Academy, with catalogue number 593. The label tells us the child’s father is Sir William Gibson-Craig, a well known knighted Mid-Lothian lawyer and Member of Parliament. The pet names are also inscribed verso, behind each of the dog’s portraits, so Bob is the terrier and the black setter is named Blossom. The handwritten paper at the top has the address of the artist who lived at 4 Randolph Place from 1854-1864. The paper likely notes the number of paintings Steell submitted for the exhibition, in 1862. This one being 2. The canvas marking of the Royal Scottish Academy is of Alexander Hill who joined the Academy in 1830 as a Colourman, and was a brother to the Academy Secretary, noted photographer and artist David Ogilvie Hill. (Robin Rodgers, RSA communication 2025)
Gourlay Steell was the son of a wood carver. He studied art with Scottish artist William Allan, and in Robert Scott Lauder’s studio. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Scottish Academy and was elected an academician two years before this painting. One year after this painting was completed it was exhibited by the Royal Scottish Academy as noted above, in 1862.
In 1882 Gourlay Steell became curator of the National Galleries of Scotland. (Source: National Gallery of Scotland).
Gertrude Gubson-Craig, the girl with blonde curls, would have been ten years old when Steell painted this portrait of her in 1861.
The Gibson-Craig family lived in Riccarton House, Edinburgh. Later the house became part of the Heriot School in Edinburgh, and eventually fell into disrepair. It was demolished in the 1950s.
A further label, more recent, indicates the painting was, for a time, in a Branby Bendall storage company Cheltenham Depository for Mrs. C Craig.
Such a charming little girl in long blonde curls dressed in white with blue sash and trim. She holds flowers in one hand and pets the top of her dog’s head with the other. The terrier stands on her dress, and the setter sits beside her. At her feet are ballet shoes in blue, a basket and pink and red flowers.
The artist signature is in red paint lower left.
The painting is in an arched inner frame with etchings in the top corners. Surrounding the arched lining is a fine gilt frame with intricate embellishments.
Once a family treasure, this was and is also a fine exhibited work of art by a celebrated Scottish artist. Excellent provenance and historical documentation makes this exhibited painting very special.
Overall good condition, and presents very well. There is one previous repair, and some stable craquelure in the darker background area.
Ready to begin a new chapter, ready to hang!
- Creator:Gourlay Steell (1819-1894, Scottish)
- Creation Year:1861
- Dimensions:Height: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Overall good condition with one previous repair and stable craquelure visible in the darker background areas. Frame and painting present very well with minor signs of age.
- Gallery Location:Hillsborough, NC
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2069217035172
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
Premium sellers with a 4.7+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 2022
1stDibs seller since 2022
58 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Hillsborough, NC
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllTwo Spaniels and a Hound, large oil painting of wooded early 19th C landscape
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Christmas special! On sale for a short time only.
Beautiful and impressive large original vintage oil painting, 38" by 50" in a beautifully presented frame, after one of the most re...
Category
20th Century English School Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$3,120 Sale Price
20% Off
Cavalier
s Pets
19th century Oil Painting
By Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, 1802-1873
Located in Hillsborough, NC
'The Cavalier's Pets' by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was exhibited in 1845, and is now in the collection of the Tate Museum of Art in London. This is a fine oil painting copy of the famous Landseer painting. This is a well executed work with all the hallmarks of a Victorian 19th century painting...
Category
Late 19th Century Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,832 Sale Price
34% Off
Spaniel and Pups 18th century scene, oil on canvas, British
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Charming King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and her Pups is an oil on old canvas painting in folk English School style. Dates to 18th century, the dogs are in a homestead by a thatched c...
Category
18th Century English School Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Toy Spaniel pets with Blue Bows, 19th century oil on canvas
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Portrait of two pets in blue bows, these 19th century Victorian puppies look straight out from the canvas with soulful eyes. These two are French, painted by animal portrait artist I...
Category
19th Century French School Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Fiberboard
$2,080 Sale Price
20% Off
Terriers and Fox in Woodland 19th century
By George Armfield
Located in Hillsborough, NC
The Fox and Three Terriers in a woodland landscape is by renowned animal and landscape artist George Armfield (1810-1893). Armfield is known for his paintings of Spaniels and Terrie...
Category
19th Century Romantic Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Horse in Stall Greeting Three Dogs 20th century
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Charming animal painting in late 19th century style frame, the horse in the stall leans its head down to touch noses with a dog, as two dogs look on. Nice barn scene! Makes you smil...
Category
20th Century American Realist Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
You May Also Like
19th century English portrait of a young girl with her pet spaniel in landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
This enchanting early 19th-century portrait of a young girl in a pastoral landscape, attributed to the esteemed English portraitist Margaret Carpenter, is a rare and captivating exam...
Category
1840s Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique English 19th Century, King Charles Cavalier and Westie dogs in a room
By George Armfield
Located in Woodbury, CT
Antique Victorian English 19th Century, King Charles Cavalier spaniel and Westie terrier in an interior.
This exquisite English 19th-century painting by...
Category
1850s Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$7,125 Sale Price
25% Off
Free Shipping
19th Century dog portrait oil painting of two show dogs
By Valentine Thomas Garland
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Valentine Thomas Garland
British, (1845-1914)
After the Show
Oil on canvas, signed
Image size: 28.5 inches x 18.5 inches
Size including frame: 40.75 inches x 30.75 inches
A wonderf...
Category
19th Century Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fine Victorian English Oil Painting Three Terrier Dogs Highland Rabbit Hole
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Three Terrier Dogs in Landscape
English artist, mid 19th century
circle of George Armfield (English dog painter, 1808-1893)
oil on canvas, framed
framed: 17 x 21 inches
canvas: 8 x 1...
Category
Mid-19th Century Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Oil
Victorian English Dog Painting Three Dogs Exploring in an Open Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/School: 19th Century English School
Title: Three Dogs In Open Landscape
Medium: oil on canvas, framed (behind glass hence the reflection).
Framed...
Category
19th Century Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fine Victorian Oil Painting Young Girl with Pet Dog Circular Original 19th cent.
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Her Favourite Pet
Young Lady wearing a straw hat and white dress with blue ribbons with her pet dog.
Circle of Arthur John Elsley, British 19th Cen...
Category
19th Century Victorian Animal Paintings
Materials
Oil
