A dog (Brutus) hiding behind a door in a barn while another dog sits outside the door. Etching by T. Landseer, 1824, after E. Landseer.

"Brutus, a bull terrier, makes numerous appearances in Landseer's early work from around 1815-18. He belonged to Mr W.W. Simpson, an early patron and friend of the Landseer family who commissioned the young Landseer to make drawings of his dog. In a letter of 1818 Landseer wrote to his patron saying he hoped '...that you will like 'the Brutus' as it has been generally admired & thought the best thing I have done on a small scale' (R. Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer, London, 1981, p.3)."—Christie's, London, The Martyn Gregory collection, 24 March 2022, lot 68