Gourlay Steell

The eminent Victorian animal painter Gourlay Steell was born in 1819 and was the brother of Sir John Steell, the noted Scottish sculptor. Gourlay Steell was brought up in an artistic family and in 1846 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy. He became a full Academician in 1859 and so noted was his success that he later became Curator of the National Gallery of Scotland as well. He also followed his father, D G Steell, as Lecturer in Sculpture at the Watt Institute in Edinburgh. In 1872 he was appointed Animal Painter for Scotland to Queen Victoria, in succession to Sir Edwin Landseer, and he also held office for the Highland & Agricultural Society. Steell's first exhibit at the Scottish Academy was accepted when he was only 13. He exhibited 10 paintings at the Royal Academy between 1865 and 1880, including several of the canine titles for which he is principally known today. Gourlay Steell died in 1894.