Woof: A Celebration of Dogs exhibition – Lynn Museum

A brand-new exhibition, Woof: A Celebration of Dogs, celebrating our canine companion throughout time, is coming to Lynn Museum this autumn.

Woof: A Celebration of Dogs will open at the Market Street museum on Tuesday 1 October. Through a diverse collection of objects and artworks the exhibition explores the different roles dogs have played in our lives – as working animals and loyal companions.

Drawing on Norfolk Museums Service’s extensive collections, alongside significant loans, the exhibition will feature natural history, archaeology, and art works of both local and national importance – including works by famous artists Sir Edwin Landseer, Andy Warhol and David Hockney.

Probably the first animal to be domesticated, dogs have been our constant companions for many millennia building an extraordinary bond with humans. It’s not surprising, therefore, that they appear as motifs on objects and in artworks dating back thousands of years.

Some of the earliest artefacts in the exhibition include a Roman coin featuring the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, suckling a she-wolf, sherds of Samian ware decorated with images of dogs and Roman brooches in the form of dogs. A finger ring, buckle, strap end, retainer’s badge and dish handle are also on display, demonstrating the wide range of objects which have celebrated man’s best friend.

As well as being loyal companions, dogs have featured in myth and religion. On display is an Egyptian cartonnage – part of the coffin for a mummy – depicting a jackal-headed god, while an Anglo-Saxon urn with drawings of a dog or wolf and a rowing boat has been interpreted as an image of Fenrir – a gigantic wolf from Norse mythology.

In more recent times, many artists have been drawn to dogs as a subject for their work. Some have celebrated their own dogs or those of friends, like David Hockney’s dachshunds included in the digital work 40 Snaps of My House, August 1990 on loan from Tate, or Andy Warhol’s painting of Lady Jane Adeane’s King Charles spaniel, Pom.

Other artists have focused on the more emotional or symbolic role of dogs in our culture – such as renowned sporting artist, Maud Earl’s picture of two bulldogs titled England Expects or Sir Edwin Landseer’s charming oil painting of two doe-eyed spaniels, King Charles Spaniels (The Cavalier’s Pets) – on loan from The Kennel Club and Tate respectively.

Landseer in particular remains famous for his paintings of animals and was a direct inspiration for other artists of the Victorian period – the exhibition includes William Henry Ruggles’ copy of a Landseer original of ‘Bob’ a Newfoundland dog who was said to have survived a shipwreck off the east coast of England. In later years he reportedly saved 23 people from drowning in the Thames over a 14-year period. Landseer’s original painting marked Bob’s award of a Royal Humane Society medal for his ability in water and lifesaving service.

Other artworks on display also depict dogs alongside their loving owners as in the tender 17^th century painting by an unknown artist which shows two young children with their pet spaniel, and the fine Portrait of Isabella Buxton by Thomas Bardwell which depicts a society lady with her hand resting lightly on the head of her greyhound.

The exhibits also include some very unusual items such as a remarkable overcoat made from the hair of a St Bernard’s dog collected during daily grooming sessions and then spun and woven into cloth for the dog’s owner, Mr B. E. Misselbrook of Norwich.

Also on display are two Victorian dog collars engraved with their owners’ names which were fastened with a padlock – in the event that the dog went missing or was stolen, owner disputes could be settled by producing the key!

The exhibition will run until 29 June 2025, and admission to the museum is free throughout the winter admission period (October 2024 – March 2025). Themed events and a school’s education programme will also be on offer alongside the exhibition, with more details to follow soon.

Please note – Assistance dogs only.

The White Dog by Vivian Crome, 1883, oil on canvas © Norfolk Museums Service (Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery)

Events October