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Dogs in Our WorldExploring the human-dog bond through science-based training, behavior insights, and heartwarming stories Author: Adam Winston
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William Secord: Dogs and Art
Sunday, 1 March, 2026
Explore Our Services Episode Summary In this captivating episode of Dogs in Our World, host Adam Winston sits down with William Secord, a renowned expert on the history of dog paintings and art. William shares fascinating insights into the evolution of dog portraiture from the Renaissance period through the 19th century, highlighting iconic artists like Sir Edwin Landseer and George Stubbs. Discover how societal changes, such as the rise of the middle class and the popularity of purebred dog shows, influenced the demand for dog paintings. William also delves into the symbolism behind dogs in art, the different categories of dog paintings, and the ongoing dog art market. The episode concludes with a look at contemporary dog artists and the resurgence of dog portraiture, emphasizing the unique bond between dogs and their owners captured through art. Join us for a journey through history, art, and the enduring love for dogs that continues to inspire artists and collectors alike. Read on for key takeaways, resource links, and the full transcript. Key Takeaways William Secord is a leading expert on 19th-century dog paintings, authoring multiple books and curating significant collections that explore the history and artistry of dog portraiture. Historic dog paintings fall into three main categories: sporting, purebred, and pet portraits, each reflecting different social classes and cultural values, with a notable rise during the 18th and 19th centuries driven by the middle class. Iconic artists like Sir Edwin Landseer and George Stubbs created dog paintings that remain highly valued today, with some works fetching millions, highlighting the enduring appeal and market for quality dog art. Contemporary dog artists, such as Christine Merrill, focus on capturing the unique spirit and personality of individual dogs, contributing to a resurgence of interest in dog portraiture that blends realism with expressive styles. Dog paintings offer insights into the social history and evolution of dog breeds, illustrating how breeds like bulldogs and German Shepherds have changed over time, and emphasizing the cultural significance of dogs as family members. Resources & Links Amazon YouTube Discord RSS Feed Google Instagram LinkedIn Spotify TikTok Twitch Visit William Secord’s official gallery website: dogpainting.com — Explore collections, exhibitions, and contact information. Purchase William Secord’s books on dog paintings and history at abe.com with options for personally signed copies. Learn more about the Dogs in Our World podcast and access episode resources at dogsinourworld.com. Explore historic dog paintings and collections at The Dog Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit the American Kennel Club Museum in New York for a splendid collection of dog art. Discover sporting art and dog paintings at the Sporting Art Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. For European dog art, visit The Kennel Club Gallery in London and the Museum of the Hunt and Nature in Paris. Research links and images from Episode 08 are available at dogsinourworld.com under episode resources. Episode Transcript Show Transcript Introduction Adam: Welcome to episode number eight of Dogs in Our World. I’m Adam Winston. This episode is about dogs and art. Once again, I researched and hustled until I could find us THE person who is considered THE expert on the subject. Whether you’re an artist, historian, dog lover, or you’re simply in the mood to learn something new, this episode is for you. Join the audience at dogsinourworld.com. From there you can view pictures from each episode. Check out my services page to see how I could help you, your dog, or your organization. And finally, links to all of our social media pages can be found in the top-right corner of dogsinourworld.com. Alright, here we go … Part 1: Introduction and Historical Context William: My name is William Secord and I’m in New York, New York. My sort of claim to fame, I suppose, a long time ago was that I was the first director of the American Kennel Club Museum, The Dog, that’s now in St. Louis. I was there for five or six years then started my own business, but also wrote the first book on the history of dog painting, which came out in 1992, and since then I’ve written four other books on dog painting. So, it’s really about being Dog Bill at this point. I’m the world’s expert on 19th century dog paintings and then I also have a gallery that’s now open by appointment only which sells paintings of dogs and animals. Adam: How did you first find yourself in this world, or what first got you interested in dogs and paintings? William: Coming into the world of purebred dogs was, for me, fairly serendipitous. I mean, I grew up on a farm in Eastern Canada. We had dogs, we had Border Collies, which as you know, are very smart. But I wasn’t really a dog person. Sort of a straight shot in Art History, honors degree in Art History, Master’s Arts Administration, Ph.D. Art Education. Then I was looking around in New York, finishing, you know, my graduate degrees for work, and the American Kennel Club was looking for a director for its new small museum, which was then called The Dog Museum of America. So, I applied for the job and after the three months of being interviewed and taken to lunch and all of that kind of thing, they hired me. It was sort of a trial by fire. I think I met three hundred American Kennel Club delegates all in one go. And all of a sudden, was conversing and chatting and talking and having lunch with people who had bred a specific breed for thirty or forty years and had very specialized knowledge of the breed. And I just got very, very interested in the history of those breeds and how they had developed over the years. Because they had such passion for their breed, it sort of rubbed off on me. And then I got involved with collecting old books on dogs and the illustrations and the texture and all that kind of thing and the history of the dogs and that evolved into writing articles and stories about dogs and dog books. Of course, there are depictions of dogs and artwork related to dogs that possibly date back thousands of years. But, in this episode, we’re going to learn about a time in history when people first began wanting to have pictures of their personal dog. Before Instagram and even before the camera. William: Up until recently, we didn’t think that there were than many portraits of dogs per se, in the 17th or 18th centuries. We thought of those centuries being more about portraits of people with a dog. If you follow me. But recent research has shown, that at least during the Renaissance period in Italy, people commissioned portraits of their dogs alone, without them. So, that’s where you see the really, the beginning of the evolution of dog painting. And then, when you move on into the 18th century, you get people like George Stubbs who was really well known for his paintings of horses, but also did a tremendous number of dog paintings. So, George Stubbs in England and the same time period in France, with the King Louis the 14th and Louis the 15th having tremendous wealth and tremendous power, kennels of two or three hundred dogs at any one time. They commissioned artists such as Jean Batiste Hudre, Alexandre Francoi Deportes to do portraits of the royal dogs. And unlike British paintings, the 18th century French paintings often had the names of the dogs in gold leaf actually on the canvas. So, there’s a very famous dog, dog painting of Pompes au Faursea which belonged to the king and their names are actually inscribed in gold leaf on the canvas itself, which is sort of cool. So that’s going on in the 18th century England, 18th century France, but the really tremendous number of dog paintings by a tremendous number of different artists occurred between 1840 and 1940 in England. Remember last episode when I took us to the sheepdog trial? I told you that those kinds of trials grew in popularity during the 1800s. Well, Secord taught me that at same time, there was also the rise of the middle class in England. This rise of the middle class was a time of great wealth and there was also an increase in the amount of leisure time folks could enjoy. People increasingly began to take great pride in their dogs. And what better way to memorialize them and show off your wealth than by commissioning a portrait of your prize pup. William: So, the evolution of purebred dog shows at the same time as field trials created this demand for depictions of dogs that actually conformed to the standard for the breed. For instance, the standard being the written description of what a particular breed should look like. They tried to breed to that and make their dogs look like that so there was tremendous pride of ownership. Similar to someone having race horses. They wanted to have depictions of paintings of their race horses. The people wanted to have, dog fanciers wanted to have paintings of their dogs. And in some cases, had twenty or thirty paintings commissioned over the years of their particular breed or their top winning dogs. That kind of thing. So that’s one factor. Across the pond, here in America during the 1800s, paintings of dogs also became part of popular culture. William: In America in the 19th century, there was more with sporting dogs than with anything else. Pointers and setters and terriers, to a lesser extent, mirroring or paralleling what was going on in England, but in its own particular way. And there are collectors that only want American paintings, because they’re, you know, nationalistic, or that fits in better with their American furniture, or whatever. But often people who have hunting lodges or that kind of thing will want to have pointers and setters, you know, paintings on the wall. One of the things that William Secord has done for the art world … and the dogs in our world … is he’s helped us break down historic paintings of dogs into three to four basic categories. Here is one of the most helpful soundbites, for me, as I go back and look at all the paintings that I researched for this episode. By the way, links to our research can be found in the show notes for this episode at dogsinourworld.com. William: Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, had a little tri-color King Charles Spaniel and over the years had as many as 75 dogs in her kennels at Windsor Castle. So, in a highly-stratified society where everybody looked up to the queen as this sort of model of how they should behave or what they should do, the queen had all these dogs and other people wanted to emulate that so they had dogs as well. And they weren’t just one or two dogs. I mean, people who had dogs in the late 19th century had with great wealth, would have hunting camps, if you will, in North Wales or wherever where they would have tens of thousands of acres where they had kennels with two hundred dogs. I mean, it’s very different than what we think of today as somebody showing one or two dogs. So, those three forces: the purebred dog fanciers, the purebred and field trial, Queen Victoria, rise of the middle class, came together to create basically three types of dog painting. What I call sporting, purebred and pet. You know, sporting is an obvious one, but I also include Foxhounds in that. The purebred dog portrait which is a very classic type of four on the floor dog facing to the left and head slightly turned towards the viewer sort of portrait. And then the pet portrait, which was what Queen Victoria had, which was King Charles Spaniels on a cushion whose only purpose was to please their master. So, those three things evolved and that’s more or less how I organized the book in addition to being chronological, had little sections on Queen Victoria. I had little sections on field trials, little sections on the evolution of purebred dog shows. Adam: So, you’re saying if we go back and look at works of art from the 18th, 19th century that we can kind of tell a lot about the painting or what’s going on and what the message is by looking at how the dog is postured or positioned? William: Yes. Adam: Interesting. So, this is the stuff I want to learn about now. This is great. I want to be able to see this stuff. This is good. So, when you look at paintings of dogs from the 18th and 19th century, you can ask yourself “Could this be considered a sporting, purebred, or pet related painting?” There is a 4th category, or what could be an exception to those three types. William: those are the ones that don’t really fall into the sporting, purebred and pet and you get this with Belgian and Dutch paintings where their what I call realistic paintings. For the most part with English and French paintings, the dogs are all cleaned up, they’d had a bath, they’d been groomed, they’d been polished, you know. They’ve been looking as good as they possibly can. Where there are other artists in Holland, in the lowlands, where painting of dogs on the street. Dogs that are emaciated. Dogs that are scratching around for a bone that look very, very sick. Or another one I’m thinking of is simply called, The Dog Market, where they, at the time in the mid to late 19th century where dogs were sold on the streets and there are pictures of these dogs looking scruffy and in need of a bath and in need of a good meal. Sort of a social commentary on how they looked at dogs at the time. Adam: Fascinating. Fascinating. Before we wrap up part one, I want to share with you what Mr. Secord taught me about what dogs could symbolize in early paintings. William: Often times the dogs were more meaningful or symbolic when they were included in paintings of people. For instance, you’d have the Venus, a nude woman lying down and the little spaniel at her side. The spaniel being awake or asleep meant one thing or the other. Adam: That’s great because I know that painting as I was researching this episode. So now I got a better. I got perspective. What else? William: Well, the, I think that some of the dogs were well known for their political ramifications. The Pug, for instance, was always associated with William of Orange and the Dutch. Other dogs were associated more with different countries or different political aspirations. Hogarth, of course, had a Pug and there are depictions of the Pug with another dog urinating on it. I mean, you could just go on and on. Hogarth used dogs in a similar way with his realistic depictions of English life. Now that we’ve met our featured guest and set the scene for today’s episode we’ll get ready for part 2 where world renown expert William Secord will share with us some of the most valuable dog paintings … and painters. He’ll also provide a brief overview of the Dog Art Market and explain why people continue to collect paintings of dogs. More Dogs in Our World after this … Part 2: Iconic Dog Painters and the Dog Art Market Part 2: Iconic Dog Painters and the Dog Art Market Adam: Welcome back to this episode, where we’re learning more about dogs by exploring the world of art and art history. Specifically, art from the 18th and 19th century. One of the most iconic artists who was part of this massive bourgeoning of dog paintings coming from England was a child prodigy named Sir Edwin Landseer. Landseer began drawing incredible images of animals at an age when most kids learn to write their names. By puberty, this prodigy was creating rather accomplished etchings of dogs and other animals. Here’s William Secord … William: And eventually, as his work developed, he came to the attention of the queen and became one of Queen Victoria’s favorite artists. Starting as early as 1837, when the queen’s mother, The Duchess of Kent commissioned Edwin Landseer to do a portrait of her little favorite dog named Dash, which was a tri-color Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. And eventually over the years, Queen Victoria commissioned Landseer to do other portraits of her dogs as well. From my point of view, the best and the most interesting one was a portrait of Prince Albert’s black Greyhound, Eos. And it’s a simple portrait of the dog, four on the floor, facing left, head slightly turned towards the viewer. But with all the trappings of royalty and great wealth around it down to a top hat, a pair of gloves and a walking stick, as if the dog is waiting for his master just to go out for a walk. Technically the painting is brilliant, and beautifully organized, sympathetically rendered. William: Sir Edwin Landseer may be one of the most iconic dog painters, but the most expensive painting of a dog to be sold was created by another famous painter from a century earlier. William: In terms of price, there was a very large painting by George Stubbs of a Newfoundland that sold relatively recently for about three million pounds, which is a lot for a dog painting. I’m not sure that any of Landseer’s dog paintings have fetched that kind of price but certainly George Stubbs’ paintings are expensive. Routinely selling for, you know, more than a million dollars. So, this one particular dog monumental, almost life-sized painting of the dog sold for about three million pounds. The pound being roughly 1.3 to 1.4 depending on the day. William: The dog art market that was born from the rising middle class in England during the 19th century is alive and well today. Popular paintings from that time clearly continue to fetch record prices. Here’s Mr. Secord with some insight into the current dog art market. And, generously offering advice to anyone interested in acquiring a dog painting. William: Interestingly enough, the market went through, sort of peaked in 2007, 2008. Adam: Really. William: Then it’s gone through adjustment since then. And what’s happened is that the very best, the very best quality has gone up in price. Like Landseer, for instance, you know, it just keeps going up and up. And then other ones that were unknown painters, what I would call more decorative things, had more or less stayed the same or gone down a little bit. So, as I always, as I’ve said from the very beginning starting in this business 35 years ago, people ask me, “What should I buy? Should I buy an etching? Should I buy a print? Should I buy painting? I’ve got this much money, you know, should I buy an unsigned?” I would say, “Buy the best that you can afford. Buy the best that your money will buy, and you won’t get tired of it. And if you do, get tired of it, you can always trade it in, because there’s always a market for the best of a particular artist’s work.” Adam: As usual, when someone starts talking to me about dogs and gets my wheels spinning … I get excited. This is why my show is edited. It’s the only way that I can keep my conversations on track. Thankfully, this is why I only interview the best possible guests … because they often help keep us on track. Part 3: Resurgence of Dog Portraiture William: The other thing we haven’t spoken about is contemporary artists. Adam: That was my next question. Please do. William: I’ve shown one artist, Christine Merrill, for over 27 years and I’ve written a book about her. I’ve interviewed thirty of her clients all around the country about why they commissioned her to do a painting of their dog or dogs. I mean, she has some clients that have five different paintings of their dogs that they’ve commissioned over the years. And the thing about Christine is, not only does she capture the anatomy, structure, coat texture, the way the dog looks, she somehow captures the spirit of the dog, the individual character of the dog. I can’t tell you how many times people have commissioned portraits of their dog as gifts for their spouse, and the spouse just comes down and starts crying when they see the painting, because it captures, the painting itself, not a photograph of the painting, not a digital image, but the actual painting itself captures somehow that individual character and nature of their pet. And she’s done purebred dog portraits, but that’s what she specializes in is really more pet portraits. And she gets the best paintings when she lives with the dog for a day or two and gets to know its character and its foibles and its facial expressions and then does sketches and works on the painting from there. William: Oprah Winfrey is a good client of ours with Christine’s work. William: But also, Pamela Dennis Hall who’s from Texas who does realistic portraits of both horses and dogs, almost with a Victorian feeling to them. And having horses and dogs herself, she has Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and pugs, she has very sympathetic to the smaller more toy non-sporting breeds. Adam: This is one thing I’ve learned. And one thing that I think this show has definitely reinforced in my head is that every single dog is unique and it’s fascinating to learn about the individual and unique relationships that people have with their dogs. And so, I’m going to see Christine’s paintings and Pamela’s so I can see how they may have captured, you know, the unique personalities of a dog. And I can understand why somebody would find that so emotional after seeing something that was commissioned for them of their dog. William: I think the more you know dogs, the more you realize that every dog is unique. And just because you’re looking at an Airedale, or have six Airedales together they’re all, they have a general particular strain or tendency because they’re Airedales, but then beyond that, they’re individual personalities and characteristics. Adam: And what are some other, are you seeing any trends in modern paintings or present day paintings, and do you see any trends going into the future? William: I mean, in regard to modern day paintings, there is almost a resurgence of interest in portraits of dogs. I mean, almost every week, I get somebody who wants to exhibit in my gallery in New York, or show their work or want my opinion or this kind of thing. And there are some wonderful artists out there doing great paintings. A lot of them are just doing pastel head studies, or whatever, but there’s a whole school of artists that are using the dog not for the way it actually looks, but for its expressive value. So that if you think, for instance, a Doberman growling. They take that and paint a picture of a Doberman growling but in an abstracted, sort of expressionist way to reinforce the tension in the painting. In other words, it’s not a portrait of a particular Doberman, but it’s the Doberman uses as symbolically to reflect everything we always thought about Dobermans. I don’t know if I’m expressing that very well, but there’s the tremendous number of artist who more abstracted images of dogs not to capture the way the dog looked, but to express a certain emotion or feeling through their painting. Adam: One thing we’ve learned a lot about, too, in this show is the huge growing population of dogs in our world, especially America. Do you think that maybe this growing popularity in number of dogs is contributing to this kind of resurgence of dogs in art? William: I think, increasingly people are looking at their dogs as members of the family. You know, thirty or forty years ago on a farm you’d have dogs that were not even allowed inside of the house, you know. They were functioning, working dogs, or they stayed outside in the kennels. I think for most people who live, certainly in cities, because of the confined space that they live in, the dog increasingly sleeps on the bed, both the wife and the husband see a variety of emotions or feelings in their dogs and learn them, their dog’s personalities and identify more with the dogs, which I think you’re more inclined to want to have an image. Whether its photographs of your dogs or paintings of your dogs or sculptures of your dogs around, you know, to remind you of that particular love or affection you have for your pet. William: You can visit research links at dogsinourworld.com to view pictures of many of the paintings we mentioned today. You can also view many of the paintings in Mr. Secord’s collections by visiting his gallery’s website, which is dogpainting.com. But, clearly, the best way to appreciate a painting is to see it in person. William: In America, the best places to see paintings are The Dog Museum, which is in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s in the suburbs of St. Louis. In New York, the American Kennel Club has a splendid collection. In Middleburg, Virginia, they’ve got a great sporting art library and museum. When you’re traveling in Europe next, the two places to go to are The Kennel Club in London, THE Kennel Club in London. They have a fantastic gallery, they’ve got a great collection and again, it’s better to call and make an appointment. The other one is in Paris. It’s the Museum of the Hunt and of Nature and they have many of the paintings that were commissioned by Louis the 14th and 15th on display. It’s in a beautiful architecturally designed building from the 18th century and they’ve been brought in from all different museums to create these thematic shows of primarily French dog painting. But whenever I go and look for dog paintings in Europe or elsewhere in America, I always come back home and realize that I’ve got the best selection right here. -Cue Music- Conclusion You can visit the William Secord Gallery, in Manhattan, by appointment. Since not all of his collection is housed in the gallery, Mr. Secord says you can call them, in advance, if there’s something specific breed, or whatever, you want to see. He recommends browsing and purchasing his books on abe.com. That’s a-b-e.com, but check this out. He says, if you call the gallery in order to purchase a book, he’ll send you a personally signed copy … William: I’ve inscribed many, many books to peoples’ dogs over the years. It’s whatever they like. They’re the client. William: When you call, be sure to tell them that you heard this show. Their contact info is listed on dogpainting.com. That’s d-o-g-painting.com Adam: Don’t forget to join the audience at dogsinourworld.com. Help more people discover this show by leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. If that’s too much, then help spread the word by telling two friends you think might be interested. And, be sure to tell them exactly how they can listen to us. Thank you so much. I’ll talk to you soon. Stay Connected If you enjoyed this episode: Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Share your thoughts with us at dogsinourworld.com/contact. Subscribe on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts |Spotify |Google Podcasts Ready to Elevate a Dog’s World? Book Adam
