A magnificent buck surveys his dominion with regal pride and noble self-assurance in Sir Edwin Henry Landseer’s “Monarch of the Glen.” An extraordinary British animal painter who imparted the creatures he depicted with a moral dimension, Landseer (1802 – 1873) created a series of highly detailed stag studies inspired by numerous travels to the Scottish Highlands. The House of Lords originally commissioned Landseer to paint “Monarch of the Glen,” but it was sold to a private collector when they withheld payment. The stag was made popular by the advertisements of Pear’s soap company and later as the trademark of John Dewar and Sons distillery, Glenfiddich and The Hartford Financial Services Group.

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