The Queen and Prince Albert became very fond of the artist who depicted the little Dash, and Landseer soon became a frequent guest at court. Indeed he was to tutor the Queen in etching, and in effect helped to teach her drawing.
The early years of Landseer at court are perhaps best epitomized by the portrait Queen Victoria's Favorite Pets, completed just two years after she had ascended the throne (illustration 3-129). The painting is perhaps the quintessential pet portrait, creating a rich domestic scene reflecting the Queen's affection for her charges. The beloved Dash is seen recumbent on a rich velvet stool, the picture of canine elegance, while before him the impish parrot Lory has scattered the floor with nut shells. Majestically posed behind him is the Prince Consort's favorite Greyhound, Eos, and a noble Deerhound, echoing a pose which the artist again used in a composition completed during the same year (illustration 3-135).

Except perhaps for the court pet portraits by the eighteenth century French painters Oudry and Greuze, the dog had never before been depicted in such a luxurious domestic interior. The pets are surrounded with symbols of wealth and luxury; the rich silk curtains, the velvet footstool upon which Dash is so languidly posed, and the gold-tasselled pillow against which the head of Eos is silhouetted.

This regal canine domesticity is taken yet a step further in a painting which reflects the happiest times of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's too short life together at Windsor. "Windsor Castle in Modern Times" (illustration 3-127) was completed between 1841 and 1845 and in addition to its success as a pictorial composition, it brilliantly portrays an imaginary moment in the routine of the Queen.

The Queen and the young Prince Consort, seated on an upholstered bench, are surrounded by symbols of domestic happiness while the viewers eye is drawn to the beautifully ordered landscape of Windsor gardens beyond. The young Princess Royal, Victoria, holds a dead kingfisher and on the green upholstered stool and floor are more spoils of the day's hunt: two pheasants, a mallard and a jay. Of more interest to the dog fancier, however, are the four dogs which appear in the scene.