William Hogarth self-portrait 1745 Tate Britain Detail Pug

Trump () was a

pug The Pug is a breed of dog with the physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. An ancient breed, with roots dating back to 400 B.C., they have a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most ...

owned by English painter

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

. He included the dog in several works, including his 1745 self-portrait ''

Painter and his Pug ''The Painter and his Pug'' is a 1745 self-portrait created by William Hogarth featuring his pug dog, Trump. He began the portrait a decade earlier. The portrait was originally created with the intention of Hogarth wearing formal attire, but was ...

'', held by the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

. In the words of the Tate's display caption, "Hogarth's pug dog, Trump, serves as an emblem of the artist's own pugnacious character."''The Painter and his Pug''
Tate Gallery

History

Hogarth owned several different pugs through his life. For example, in December 1730, he placed an advertisement offering a

half guinea The half guinea gold coin of the Kingdom of England and later of Great Britain was first produced in 1669, some years after the Guinea entered circulation. It was officially eliminated in the Great Recoinage of 1816, although, like the guinea, ...

reward for the return of a dog named "Pugg". Pugs appear in several of Hogarth's paintings. An early example is his 1730 group portrait of ''The Wollaston Family'', on loan to the

New Walk Museum The Leicester Museum & Art Gallery (until 2020, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery) is a museum on New Walk in Leicester, England, not far from the city centre. It opened in 1849 as one of the first public museums in the United Kingdom. Leicest ...

in Leicester since 1943.''The Wollaston Family''
, ArtUK In the fifth scene of Hogarth's 1732–1734 series ''

A Rake's Progress ''A Rake's Progress'' (or ''The Rake's Progress'') is a series of eight paintings by 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The canvases were produced in 1732–1734, then engraved in 1734 and published in print form in 1735. The series ...

'', a scene known as ''Married To An Old Maid'' which is held by

Sir John Soane's Museum Sir John Soane's Museum is a Historic house museum, house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and ...

, a pug appears to be marrying a one-eyed dog, mirroring the wedding scene depicted behind in which the spendthrift Tom Rakewell is marrying a rich

old maid Spinster or old maid is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term origin ...

. Trump is believed to be the puppy in the Hogarth's 1730 group portrait ''The Fountaine Family'', held by the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

, whose sitters include Andrew Fountaine.''The Fountaine Family''
Philadelphia Museum of Art The adult pug in the 1738 ''The Strode Family'', held by the Tate Gallery, may also be Trump, although some sources indicate that this pug belongs to one of the subjects, Colonel Strode.''The Strode Family''
Tate Gallery

Louis-François Roubiliac Louis-François Roubiliac (or Roubilliac, or Roubillac) (31 August 1702 – 11 January 1762) was a French sculpture, sculptor who worked in England. One of the four most prominent sculptors in London working in the rococo style, he was described ...

sculpted Trump in

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

, c. 1741, to accompany a terracotta bust of Hogarth. The reclining terracotta figure of Trump was reproduced in

Chelsea porcelain Chelsea porcelain is the porcelain made by the Chelsea porcelain manufactory, the first important porcelain manufactory in England, established around 1743–45, and operating independently until 1770, when it was merged with Derby porcelain. ...

in the late 1740s. Plaster casts were sold with Hogarth's possessions after his death in 1762. The Staffordshire potter

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indu ...

made a version in his Black Basalt ware, using a cast bought in 1774 from the London plaster shop of Richard Parker. The original terracotta sculpture was inherited by Hogarth's widow and retained until her death in 1790.Porcelain figure of Hogarth's Dog, Trump
Victoria and Albert Museum It was recorded in 1799 an engraving by Samuel Ireland, but the original is now lost.How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?
''Los Angeles Times'', 15 June 1986 Trump was approaching old age when he was included in Hogarth's 1745 painting ''

The Painter and his Pug ''The Painter and his Pug'' is a 1745 self-portrait created by William Hogarth featuring his pug dog, Trump (dog), Trump. He began the portrait a decade earlier. The portrait was originally created with the intention of Hogarth wearing formal at ...

'', sitting next to a self-portrait of the artist, along with an easel bearing Hogarth's symbolic

line of beauty Line of beauty is a term and a theory in art or aesthetics used to describe an S-shaped curved line (a serpentine line) appearing within an object, as the boundary line of an object, or as a virtual boundary line formed by the composition of s ...

and works by Shakespeare, Swift, and Milton. (Hogarth had begun the work around 1735, but it originally appeared somewhat different, with Hogarth more formally dressed and wearing a wig, and without Trump.) According to Hogarth's biographer

Ronald Paulson Ronald Howard Paulson (May 27, 1930 – August 7, 2024) was an American writer and professor of English who was a specialist in English 18th-century art and culture, and the world's leading expert on English artist William Hogarth. Education ...

the painting contains many

visual pun A visual pun is a pun involving an image or images (in addition to or instead of language), often based on a rebus. Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in cartoons such as '' Lost Consonants'' or '' The Fa ...

s, with the dog alluding to Hogarth's own pugnaciousness; the allegorical

fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of '' fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word , meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London financial m ...

of the dog to its master paralleling Hogarth's artistic fidelity of presentation; and Hogarth's portrait being (literally) supported by the English

literary canon The term canon derives from the Greek (), meaning "rule", and thence via Latin and Old French into English. The concept in English usage is very broad: in a general sense it refers to being one (adjectival) or a group (noun) of official, authenti ...

. Hogarth included Trump in the 1746 portrait of '' Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin'', at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

, along with Lord George Graham's own dog, which is sitting at the captain's feet and apparently joining in the singing. Trump sits on his haunches on a chair to the right of the painting, wearing Graham's wig, apparently reading from a sheet of music resting against a wine glass. Hogarth was disparagingly nicknamed the "Painter Pugg", but Hogarth continued to use the dog as his trademark in a satirical 1763 engraving ''The Bruiser'', based on his 1745 self-portrait with Trump. ''The Bruiser'' (a copy of which is held by the United States'

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

) replaces Hogarth's portrait with the satirist Charles Churchill, lampooned as a drunken bear, while the dog urinates on a copy of the ''Epistle'' published by Churchill in support of

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

, which criticised Hogarth. Hogarth's strong identification with his dog led

Paul Sandby Paul Sandby (1731 – 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned Landscape art, landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas Sandby, Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 17 ...

to caricature Hogarth as a pug in his 1753 engraving ''Puggs Graces''. In 2001, a statue of Hogarth with Trump, made by Jim Mathieson, was unveiled by

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, and television personality. He is the editor of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'', a position he has held since 1986. He has appeared on many radio and television pr ...

and

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

on the

Chiswick High Road Chiswick High Road is the principal shopping and dining street of Chiswick, a district in the west of London. It was part of the main Roman road running west out of London, and remained the main road until the 1950s when the A4 was built across ...

, close to

Hogarth's House Hogarth's House is the former country home of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth in Chiswick, adjacent to the A4. The House now belongs to the London Borough of Hounslow and is open to visitors as a historic house museum free o ...

, the artist's residence from 1749 until his death in 1764.Obituary of Jim Mathieson
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 24 April 2003

In art

The Painter and His Pug by William Hogarth.jpg, ''

'', William Hogarth, 1745,

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

William Hogarth 023.jpg, Fifth painting of ''

'': ''Married To An Old Maid'', 1732–1734 William Hogarth - Portrait of Sir Andrew Fountaine with other people.jpg, ''The Fountaine Family'', 1730/1735,

William Hogarth - The Strode Family - WGA11468.jpg, ''The Strode Family'', 1738,

Captain Lord George Graham, 1715-47, in his Cabin.jpg, '' Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin'', 1746,

Captain Lord George Graham, 1715-47, in his Cabin - servant.jpg, The black servant on the right of ''Lord George Graham'' painting plays a

pipe and tabor Pipe and tabor is a pair of instruments played by a single player, consisting of a three-hole pipe played with one hand, and a small drum played with the other. The tabor hangs on the performer's left arm or around the neck, leaving the hands ...

. Below, Hogarth's pug dog Trump balances on a chair while wearing Graham's wig The Bruiser - William Hogarth - Google Cultural Institute.jpg, ''The Bruiser'', 1763,

Puggs Graces etched from his original Daubing LCCN2002714832.jpg,

, ''Puggs Graces'', 1753 William Hogarth statue.jpg, ''William Hogarth with Trump'', 2001, statue by Jim Mathieson in Chiswick

References

{{Authority control Individual dogs in the United Kingdom William Hogarth Dogs in art Individual animals in England 1730 animal births 1745 animal deaths

History

In art

See also

References