Red Panda (1837)

This page presents "Red Panda" (1837), created by Charles Hamilton Smith. The catalogue places it in Plants & Animals. The format is landscape. Plants & Animals in brief: Images of plants and animals run from medieval herbals and bestiaries to the scientific illustration of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Images of plants and animals are valued both for the care of their observation and for their decorative appeal. About the period around 1837: Landscape gained new prestige through groups such as the Barbizon painters in France and the Hudson River School in the United States, and by mid-century Realism turned to ordinary people and everyday labour. The invention of lithography around 1796 and its spread in these decades made printed images cheaper and more varied.

Buying "Red Panda" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A landscape format suits wide, low wall spaces such as the stretch above a bed, mantel, or sideboard. Flora and fauna subjects make an interior feel softer and more alive, adding a natural rhythm that works well in both traditional and contemporary spaces. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour. Choosing a standard frame size and printing to fit it often saves the cost of custom framing. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size.

English, 1776–1859

If you like the visual language of Charles Hamilton Smith, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.