I have often walked down this street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I several stories high
Knowing I’m on the street where you live

So begins that Lerner and Loewe classic On the Street Where you Live which featured in the 1956 musical My Fair Lady.

If you listen to podcasts on London Scottie Club’s website you may recall that a Thai singer who owns 9 Scotties in a Bangkok apartment played that very song for an interview in 2018. You can find that here.

But it also has a special resonance with me, in relation to where I live. Allow me to explain.

Who knew that artist Edwin Landseer painted and drew Scottish Terriers? I didn’t know it when I and my first Scottie, Captain, downsized from my large house to a flat in Landseer Court in west London.

I admit I knew little about Landseer except that he was a 19th Century artist. I had a vague notion he may be linked to other British artists, the Constable, Turner and Gainsborough school of Romantic art. But Expressionism, Surrealism, and Vincent Van Gogh are my true passions.

All the same, living in Landseer Court, it was about time I found out who Landseer was. And boy did he paint some notable gems.

Edwin Landseer (1802 – 1873) was born in London and he developed a love for Scotland. He was a frequent visitor to the Highlands and Lowlands. He was noted for his forte in depicting animals.

Like his predecessor, George Stubbs, Landseer favoured horses.

But his most famous and perhaps most public artistic contribution was as sculptor to the four lions at the base of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, London.

His most recognised painting is “The Monarch of the Glen”, depicting a red stag. He was also known, in his time for this paintings of Scottish Terriers, particularly his lithograph, “Scottish Terriers at work on a Cairn”, 1835.

Landseer’s paintings and drawings of Scottish Terriers reflected the early Scottish terrier dog definitions as the breed was progressing to becoming an established standard soon after he died.

All Rise for The Queen

Landseer was a frequent guest of Queen Victoria who commissioned many paintings from him. The Queen, herself was an admirer of Scottish terriers and kept several. She particularly favoured silver brindles, and her most well-known Scotties were, Laddie and Podge.

Landseer painted many of Queen Victoria’s dogs but I cannot find any trace that Podge or Laddie or any other Scottie were ever included.

He must have met them though as he was a frequent visitor to Balmoral and Windsor castles.

So there you have it. How about that for a serendipitous coincidence?

In my locality, streets are named after British artists. I could have found a flat in Constable Street, or Gainsborough Road or Turner Close, but of all the artists in the world, I and my Scotties came to live in Landseer Court.

Author: Sonya Weiss

Views expressed belong to the author and have not been verified by London Scottie Club