Horatio H. Couldery

Horatio Henry Couldery was the son of a painter and apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. Couldery soon realized his true calling and at the age of twenty-five, he entered the Royal Academy Schools.

Known predominantly as a painter of cats and dogs, Couldery’s work is painted with great attention to detail. In 1875 he attracted the attention of the art critic John Ruskin, who in his Academy Notes commented that one of his paintings was “quite the most skillful piece of minute and Dureresque painting in the exhibition.”

Couldery exhibited twenty works at the Royal Academy, and although known for his very detailed portrayals of cats, his dogs are painted equally well, with a great attention to expression and coat texture.