A Spate in the Highlands
This renowned animal painter trained at the Royal Academy schools and spent his early years painting coaches and theatre scenery. He later taught in Brussels, becoming a friend of the Belgian animal painter and sculptor, Eugene Verboekhoeven (1798/9-1881), who was a great influence on him. Cooper was also inspired by the Dutch school of the 17th century. He returned to London in 1831 and became almost exclusively an animal painter, using as his models the cows and sheep grazing in Regent's Park. He began to exhibit prolifically, including a remarkable unbroken run of 266 paintings shown at the Royal Academy until 1902 - a record. He enjoyed a highly lucrative career, with frequent commissions, and despite the constant repetition of popular subjects like sheep and cattle in landscapes, the quality of his work rarely diminished. Here, in this wildly Romantic and dramatic scene, the shepherd on his highland pony waits as his dog undertakes the difficult and dangerous task of retrieving a sheep from the flooded river. For centuries, Collie dogs were little known outside the Scottish lowlands, where they guarded the large flocks of free-roaming sheep. The Border Collie is bred for its strong sheep herding ability.
