Monarch of the Glen (painting)

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For other uses of the name, see Monarch of the Glen (disambiguation).
Monarch of the Glen
Sir Edwin Landseer, 1851
Oil-on-canvas
Private collection

Monarch of the Glen is an oil-on-canvas painting from 1851 by the English painter Sir Edwin Landseer, which was commissioned as part of a series of three panels to hang in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Copies made from steel engravings were widely distributed.

Landseer was a member of the Royal Academy, a favourite of Queen Victoria and had become famous for his paintings and drawings of animals. His later works include the sculptures of the lions at the foot of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. From the 1840s, he produced a series of intricately observed studies of stags based on those he had seen on the trips he had been making to the Scottish Highlands since 1824. In 1850 Landseer received a national commission to paint three subjects connected with the chase for the Refreshment Rooms of the House of Lords, for which he produced Monarch of the Glen and two other paintings. Once they were completed the House of Commons refused to grant the £150 promised for the commission, and, as a result, the paintings were sold to private collectors.

The painting was eventually purchased by the Pear's soap company and featured in their advertising. It was sold on to John Dewar and Son's distillery and became their trademark before similarly being used by Glenfiddich. The original is now part of the Diageo collection and has been exhibited by the National Galleries of Scotland.

The logo of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, a U.S. insurance services company, is taken directly from this painting.

There is a mistake with the name/painting. According to experts, it only has twelve tips on its antlers which means it is not the leader or "monarch". Fourteen tips would be needed to make it the leader.[citation needed] Deer grow more tips every year.

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