Landseer was not from the aristocracy himself, however, and his acceptance among them was a reflection of his talent, but also his attractive good wit and strong ambition. The artist was born of a family of modest means, but one to whom the importance of education and the arts was always stressed. His father John, for example, was a well-known engraver who for years fought to have the art of engraving promoted to the status of a primary art form.

The art of engraving, or in effect copying an artist's image onto a plate from which prints were then pulled, was well established in early nineteenth century England. Such prints were sold for modest sums and in many cases actually established the reputation of artists.

Landseer, whose paintings of animals and little children had an emotional appeal for a very wide audience indeed, was popular from very early on in his career. He quickly became one of the most published artists of the period. His paintings, and in particular his dog pictures, told a story or expressed a feeling which made them immediately accessible to the public.

The artist himself, however, had very ambivalent feelings about popularization of fine paintings, for he felt that they had little to do with art, and were merely a means of making money. It must have been with mixed feelings, then, that he regarded his father, who strove to establish print making as an art form, and his brother Thomas who engraved the vast majority of the prints of Landseer's work. Edwin was, however, very fond of his family and in several cases supported them financially.

Edwin was the youngest boy in a family of seven children and his talent as well as his good looks made him a favorite. Nor was he the only artist in the family, for his sisters Jessica and Emma were painters of miniatures, his elder brother Charles was a painter and the aforementioned Thomas followed in his father's footsteps to become an engraver.

Edwin Landseer was a precocious child and created accomplished drawings at the age of four. Even at this early age he was very fond of animals. His earliest drawings were actually done under his mother's supervision, but when his father recognized his child's talent, he took over his instruction in art, starting a relationship which was very successful. The early years of Landseer's life are marked by one extraordinary accomplishment after another.

In 1815, at the age of twelve, Edwin was awarded a silver medal by The Society of Arts for his drawing of a hunter, the same year in which he made his first contributions to the annual exhibitions at the Royal Academy.