Horse and Donkey (1823 & 1824)

Landseer was one of the nineteenth century’s most celebrated painters and was reputed to have been Queen Victoria’s favourite. He first exhibited his work at the Royal Academy in 1816 when only fourteen years old and went onto establish his reputation with a series of animal subjects, particularly horses, dogs and stags who were often shown parodying human behaviours. In 1858, the government commissioned Landseer to make four bronze lions for the base of Nelson’s Column in nearby Trafalgar Square.