Prized Collectibles Go to the Dogs : Victorian Era paintings can be bought at auction, from dealers or through catalogues.

Interest in English-style decorating goes beyond a penchant for floral chintz, blue-and-white china and gilded picture frames. It has given rise to the popularity of dog portraits from the Victorian Era, according to Traditional Home magazine.

Dogs on the walls are nothing new. Some 15,000 to 30,000 years ago, pictures of dogs were painted on cave walls. The ancient Greeks and Romans depicted dogs in everything from sculpture to coins.

Yet it was the English aristocracy who allowed an appreciation to develop into an obsession.

“The English nobility loved their dogs. And today dogs are so much more revered there than they are here,” says Robert B. Williams, a Bethany, Conn., dealer in dog portraits.

The Royal Dogs

When Queen Victoria commissioned paintings of the royal children, those paintings included the royal dogs. Country squires put their dogs in estate portraits and even mentioned them in the titles. Such paintings were considered part of the family record.

The passion filtered through the classes, and by the end of the 1800s, dog portraiture was a boom industry, says Neal Scott of Bellechasse Antiques in New York City. Everyone wanted portraits of their canines. Great Britain had a population of 20 million to 30 million, and 6 million claimed to be animal painters, says Scott. Most were amateurs, but their work is selling well today.

“These sorts of primitive, naive paintings are the ones people are collecting,” says Jay Beamer, a fine arts consultant in Villanova, Pa. “They’re colorful and inexpensive.”

These “pet pictures” generally are of mixed breeds. The average price is $1,000 to $5,000, depending on artistic merits.

Most other dog portraits fall into either the purebred or sporting categories.

Highly Collectable

Portrayals of purebreds are highly collectible, says William Secord, New York gallery owner and former director of the Dog Museum of America. This genre includes a variety of paintings, prints, pastels and watercolors. Prices vary. A print can cost $300 to $1,200. Oils cost $2,000 to $30,000, and many are still selling for $3,000 to $4,000. Well-known artists from the 19th and 20th centuries include John Emas, John Novle, Francis Fairman, Arthur Wardel, Maud Earl, George Earl and Marguerite Kimose.

Purebred portraits usually appeal to people who want to collect a specific breed. “Absolutely the hottest thing is the cavalier King Charles spaniel, mainly because it’s a society dog,” says Kathy Darling of Dog Ink, a specialty store in New York.

Only the best of the purebred portraits come close to the price for sporting portraits. At the top end of the market, these can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars because they are considered fine art. Most of the sporting artists worked in the late 18th Century and early 19th Century.

Portraits of dogs are available from various sources, Secord says. Art galleries, auction houses, private dealers and antiques shops are good bets. Individuals, flea markets and garage sales are less likely options.

Research First

Wherever you buy, research first, Secord says. “Find out everything you can about your area of interest. If you are interested in a specific breed, read the new breed books, but also look at early 19th-Century breed books.”

Research is especially crucial if buying at auction. The authenticity of the work usually is not guaranteed, so buyers are on their own.

Working through a reputable dealer may not be as thrilling as going to auction, but it is less harrowing. A good dealer will help research and locate a specific piece and will often guarantee its authenticity in writing. Still, that should not serve as a substitute for your own careful study and research.