Lions and Lionesses

Rendered in watercolour, the work employs fine, delicate brushwork to suggest the texture of fur and the softness of skin. The palette is restrained, emphasizing tonal gradations over bold colour. The artist’s attention to anatomical detail reflects familiarity with Stubbs’s observational approach, though the handling lacks the precision and depth of the original, indicating a skilled amateur rather than a professional painter.

The watercolour was bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum alongside Mary Linwood’s portrait of Napoleon, linking it indirectly to her celebrated exhibition. While not one of her crewel-wool works, it shares the era’s fascination with reproducing Stubbs’s imagery. Its survival suggests it was preserved as part of a private collection connected to Linwood’s circle, possibly as a reference or memento.

In the late 18th century, reproductions of Stubbs’s animal studies circulated widely, especially after his reputation grew through exhibitions and engravings. Mary Linwood’s wool embroideries of his works brought them to public attention, making such images familiar to middle-class audiences. This watercolour fits within a broader culture of artistic replication, where copying served educational, commemorative, or decorative purposes beyond original creation.

Though unsigned and unattributed to a known artist, the watercolour endures as a quiet testament to the dissemination of Stubbs’s imagery in the Georgian era. It illustrates how high art entered domestic spaces through accessible media, bridging elite and popular visual culture. Its preservation in the V&A underscores its value as a material witness to 18th-century artistic practices beyond the canonical.