Original works of art

While he painted, Herbert Dicksee was better known for his etchings. His work was very detailed, and in addition to dogs, he established quite a reputation for his depictions of big game animals such as lions, tigers and polar bears. Dicksee came from a family of animal artists. He was the son of Sir Frank Dicskee (1819-1895) and his brother was the President of the Royal Academy. Influenced by the animal and sporting artist, John Charlton (1849-1917), Dicksee entered the Slade School of Fine Arts when he was sixteen, where he at once began to do etchings. At school, Dicksee won a scholarship and several medals for his work, and, like so many artists before, him, his fascination with wild animals led him to spend a great deal of time at the Zoological Gardens.

Dicksee first worked for the "Art Journal" and the "Portfolio" magazines. He continued to go to the zoo and published a number of etchings of wild animals in typical poses, as well as a number of studies of dogs. They were published by Frost and Reed, The Fine Art Society and Arthur Tooth. He was a meticulous craftsman, who preferred to render pet dogs in domestic situations. As the "Windsor" magazine of 1906 pointed out, "It is as a painter of dogs that he shows particular skill, and this skill is the offspring of a knowledge and sympathy that began when he was a child.'

Dicksee exhibited 97 paintings at the Royal Academy between 1885 and 1933, several known to be of dogs. He also showed at the Fine Art Society. In 1885 he was elected Royal Etcher. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painters and Etchers.