Mike
and Misha Herwin 
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Herbert Thomas Dicksee, R.E. (1862-1942)"It is certainly debatable whether even Landseer, whose dogs were mostly painted in the somnolent and sentimental moments, would have excelled Mr Dicksee's insight, which is as notable as his skill with etcher's needle." Country Life Like so many things in my life, my involvement with the work of Herbert Dicksee began by accident. In the mid 1980's, I exhibited my Irish Water Spaniels and also owned a Deerhound. Then, as now, one of the top breeders in IWS was Nick Waters (Zanfi), who lived near Shrewsbury. Nick is a dealer in canine art and was in partnership with the late Caroline Dowsett of the Terichline Deerhounds and Whippets, who lived at Ripley and I lived nearby at Farnborough. Because Hounds and Gundogs are hardly ever on the same day at shows, Nick asked if I would mind collecting a print from Caroline and bringing it to the next show. My first wife, Jenny and I, went down to Ripley and were shown the print, Dicksee's, "On The Moors", with its magnificent Deerhound.
Herbert Dicksee, as Nick Waters advises in his article, followed his father John Robert as Drawing Master at the City of London School. His father became Drawing Master in 1852. Herbert was educated at the school from 1875 to 1878 and started to assist him in 1878, returning from the Slade every Wednesday and Saturday, to teach. When his father retired in 1895, Herbert took over as Drawing Master and himself did not retire until 1927. A remarkable 75 year span for father and son. His best known pupil was Arthur Rackham. Dicksee remembered him as "a bright, lively boy who showed unmistakable talent," but could not remember his work showing early signs of his later "whimsical fancy."
I am indebted to Nick and Liz for many of my Dicksees. Other valuable sources have been Grosvenor Prints in London, Steve Ribbons of Holmfirth mailto:dogsinprint@btinternet.com , Artsoutine Galleries www.antiques-atlas.com/artsoutine.html and the David Cross Gallery in Clifton, Bristol, sadly now gone, I know not where. I am also extremely grateful to Bryan Steele, whose forthcoming art book on HD, I am so looking forward to, for all his help with my collection and this web site. On the next page Nick on
Dicksee is an article written by Nick
Waters, which appeared in Dogs Monthly in December 1985, reproduced with Nick's
kind permission. Nick is one of the leading writers on canine art and
collectables and his regular contributions to Dog World, the Kennel Gazette and
other publications offer valuable information for collectors. Nick also has a
trade stand at many of the Championship Shows, with canine collectables.
I am now trying to form a full catalogue of his prints and collect
photographs of his work, so that I can make this available on CD Rom and also to
put images on line, so that other people can enjoy them. The following is a
link to the list of works, that I have accumulated so
far. It will be added to, as more information arrives, and I hope that it will
prove valuable to his legion of admirers.
Silent Sympathy
Viking's Daugh
Return to Herbert Dicksee Catalogue HD Catalogue
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Jenny
and I loved it so much that when we got home, I telephoned Nick and asked him if
he had already sold it and how much it cost. Nick had a customer in mind but
hadn't sold it yet. I bought it, and Nick, being Nick, gave me a discount for
collecting it myself. 
ter