A Spaniel Frightening Ducks 1821

James Ward created this painting, A Spaniel Frightening Ducks, in England, sometime in the early 19th century. It exemplifies the British obsession with country life, a world set apart from the industrializing cities, and a place of leisure for the upper classes. The image stages a drama of the countryside, with the spaniel placed as a vital part of this scene. We know that hunting was a favourite past-time of the British aristocracy, and images of the hunt became popular in the 18th century, as a way of displaying one’s wealth and status. Ward creates a sense of nature as wild and untamed, but, like landed gentry, something to be owned. He emphasizes this by placing the dog in the foreground, which can be interpreted as the one who enforces the social structure and division of who belongs and who does not. To better understand the historical and cultural significance of this artwork, resources such as estate records and sporting journals will reveal more about the relationship between British society, the aristocracy, and the natural world.