Black and white dog facing up and left resting on beach with supine body of young girl in pink dress lying across its front paws – sea in background. Dog saves a girl, not a boy as indicated in title. Same dog and child as in “To The Rescue” (2004.D03.077 FAC #6079).
Currier & Ives based this print on an 1856 painting by English artist Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) called Saved. The Landseer image depicts a black and white Newfoundland dog on a beach with a small girl who has just been rescued by the dog from drowning. Currier & Ives have echoed the composition of Landseer’s painting, and though the title of the print refers to He is Saved, the figure appears to be female. Landseer was a popular artist who specialized in paintings and sculptures of horses, dogs and stags and often gave his animals human-like expressions. The Newfoundland dog possesses a natural instinct to rescue and comfort those in distress in the water. During the 19th century, there were numerous accounts of the dogs participating in water rescues.
