F. M. Bailey, Whimsical Dog Portrait With Beetle, 1906

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F. M. Bailey, Whimsical Dog Portrait With Beetle, 1906

This charming early 20th-century animal painting presents a small black-and-white terrier-type … Read more F. M. Bailey, Whimsical Dog Portrait With Beetle, 1906

This charming early 20th-century animal painting presents a small black-and-white terrier-type dog seated in profile before a low brick wall and tufted garden grasses, its head turned back toward the viewer with an engaging, slightly startled expression that heightens the narrative humor of the scene. Executed with careful observation and a warm, naturalistic palette, the artist models the dog’s coat with soft transitions of cream, gray, and brown shadowing, while sharpening the facial markings and bright, attentive eyes to anchor the composition. A shallow red earthenware dish behind the figure suggests a kennel-yard or domestic garden setting, reinforcing the painting’s intimate, everyday subject matter. The defining conceit is the boldly rendered dark beetle placed upon the dog’s flank, painted with crisp edges and glossy highlights to read as an intentional trompe l’oeil intervention or visual joke, transforming a conventional pet portrait into a witty vignette that plays on the viewer’s expectations and the animal’s implied discomfort or surprise. The work is signed and dated at lower right, F. M. Bailey, 1906, indicating authorship and firmly situating the painting in the Edwardian period, when small-scale animal pictures with anecdotal touches were popular as decorative works for the home. The painting is presented in a substantial gilt frame with stepped molding, rope-twist elements, and a textured inner liner, a traditional choice that elevates the modest scale and gives the composition a finished, period-appropriate presence; the reverse shows an older backing and handwritten inventory-style markings consistent with long-term private ownership and handling within the art trade.

Measurements: 16.25 in. x 13 in. x ** in. x. See less