A long haired dachshund named ‘Charley’ by Maud Earl (1864-1943), signed and dated 'Maud Earl 190-‘ (lower left).
The dachshund Charley was named after Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (1860-1919). There is a handwritten label attached to the reverse of the canvas which states ‘Charley by Maud Earl given to Rowland Burden-Muller 1911 by HRH Princess Charlotte Saxe-Meiningen (sister of the Kaiser)

The painting is being sold with four original black and white photographs of Charley herself (she was in fact a female dog) belonging to the owner of Charley, Rowland Burden-Muller (1892-1980) and also a handwritten letter by him during a stay in in Switzerland in 1972 to a friend in London in which he mentions that he paid Maud Earl £25 for the portrait and that he and Charley saw her often together in New York. He also says in the letter 'She was a great character and an admirer of Japanese art'.

oil on canvas in an antique maple frame

Maud Earl (1864-1943) was one of the most successful canine portraitists of her day. She was unsurpassed by her peers at the depiction of a dog's anatomy. She was born in 1863 in Marylebone in London into a family of painters. It is believed she received her most important training from her father, the well known animal artist George Earl. Earl later studied at the Royal Female School of Art in 1882 before exhibiting her first work at the Royal Academy in 1884 with the painting 'Red Deer - Early Morning'. She also exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists and at the Paris Salon.
With her skill and a particular sensitivity in her painting approach and an affinity with her subjects, she soon became a highly sought after artist of pure-bred dogs. One of her important commissions was to paint Queen Victoria's favourite White Collie, 'Snowball' at Windsor Castle in February 1897, and Edward II's favourite dog 'Caesar'. Twelve of her compositions were engraved in 1908 for reproduction in 'The Sportsman's Year'.
During her life, Earl's work seems to have taken on four distinct styles. From 1880-1900 she produced richly painted portraits. During 1900 to 1915 she adopted a looser style.
In 1916 after World War I, Earl emigrated to New York City and in her own words, 1916 to the 1920's was her 'Oriental' period and her later work consisted of more stylised portraits of dogs. She remained in New York where she enjoyed continued popularity and success as an artist until her death in 1943.