The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner

A dog mourns its master

In a humble cottage, a plain wooden coffin rests under a blanket. The old shepherd’s collie leans against it, its head resting on the cover. Edwin Landseer painted The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner in 1837. It belongs to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The only mourner

The collie presses its chin against the coffin, eyes downcast. There are no other mourners: the dog is the chief, perhaps the only, one. The critic John Ruskin praised the painting as one of the most perfect works of its time.

Signs of a simple life

Nearby lie the shepherd’s hat, a stool, his Bible and spectacles. These few objects tell the story of a quiet, lonely life.

Questions about The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner

Who painted it?

Edwin Landseer, in 1837.

Where is it?

Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

What breed is the dog?

A collie, a shepherd’s working dog.

Who praised it?

The critic John Ruskin.

Sources and image credit

• Victoria and Albert Museum: collections search

Public-domain reproduction of The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner (1837). Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.