Mrs. MaGuire and Her Son with a Newfoundland Dog, Gus (1802)
by
Sir Thomas Lawrence
Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769 - 1830) was one of England's most distinguished and sought-after portrait painters of his day. A child prodigy and self-taught, Lawrence was earning an income from his painting by the time he was ten years old. Despite his commercial and critical popularity, Lawrence spent much of his adult life dealing with financial difficulties. A member of the Royal Academy in London, Lawrence served as its president from 1820 until his death. Lawrence is perhaps best remembered now for Pinkie, the female counterpart to Thomas Gainesborough's famous The Blue Boy.
Granted this dog does not much resemble modern-day Newfs, but at this early point in the breed's history the appearance of Newfs had considerable variability.
This is not Lawrence's only portrait that included a Newfoundland dog: see also, here at The Cultured Newf, Lawrence's Mrs. George Frederick Stratton and his Portrait of Sir Hugh Owen.