Maud Earl’s patrons included Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra; Earl enjoyed extreme success in Britain at a time when women were not expected or even allowed to make a living at painting.

After studying at the Royal Female School of Art (Central School of Art) she exhibited at the Royal Academy as well as the Royal Society of British Artists. An 1897 exhibit included her paintings of 48 different breeds of dog.

Although she was recognized worldwide and her images were published in books and in print form, the world Earl knew was destroyed by World War I. In 1916 she immigrated to New York City.

The Sportsman’s Years featured twelve of her works as engravings. Her paintings are thought of as an accurate record of many breeds. Maud Earl died in New York in 1943 and is buried in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

One of our favorites in the AKC Collection is Earl’s work from 1910 called Silent Sorrow. It is a timeless work that was painted in a special room at Buckingham Palace. In 1900, Earl had worked under the direct supervision of Edward VII, who greatly admired her, to create a painting of his Wire Fox Terrier Caesar. After King Edward’s death, Earl recorded Caesar resting his head on his master’s chair. He is inconsolable and he truly emanates silent sorrow.