The Hunter and His Dog by John Gibson R.A. (1790–1866)

This striking sculpture, The Hunter and His Dog, is one of John Gibson’s best works in the round. It was inspired by an incident in the street in Rome, when Gibson witnessed a boy holding a dog by its collar at the moment the dog was about to fly at an object. The surface is roughened giving it an unearthed antique appearance.

Gibson travelled to Rome when he was 27 and remained there with only the briefest visits back to England. He studied in the studio of Antonio Canova, the greatest living sculptor of his time, and also with the Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen.