“As dogs go, there is possibly no other breed that is as much associated with royalty as the King Charles Spaniel. These dogs were documented as beloved pets to the English kings as far back as 1603, beginning with James I, then Charles I and Charles II. It was as members of the royal household of Charles I that they were painted by the great portraitist, Anthony Van Dyck, and their fame and name were forever enshrined.

As I set out to portray this pair it seemed only natural to harken back to that golden age, when gentlemen dressed with panache and ladies rustled in silks and satins, with wonderful dogs that seem to embody an era.”