Barbaro and the Noble Hounds: The Comte de Barral's Hunting Dogs

Left to right: Margano, Sereno, Lentenor and Nicanor.

Who were Barbaro and The Noble Hounds?

Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who captivated the nation after his injury at the Preakness, was named for a Victorian era image of a 19th century French nobleman’s hunting dog. The portrait of the English foxhound Barbaro hangs in the home of the racehorse’s owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, at Lael Farm, near West Grove, Pennsylvania.

While many racing enthusiasts and friends of Barbaro have seen the portrait, many do not know that long before Barbaro the racehorse, this same portrait served as the inspiration for another iconic American animal: the Thurber Dog. This is the story of how the portrait of the Comte de Barral’s hunting dogs came to influence the American humorist James Thurber, whose words and drawings celebrating dogs continue to resonate today, and whose drawing of a long-eared hound became a famous cartoon figure in the mid-20th Century.

The portrait of the hunting pack of the Comte de Barral dates to the 1860’s and originally appeared as a series of three panels. A large, central image depicts two English foxhounds and two vendeens: Margano, Sereno, Lentenor and Nicanor. Separate, individual portraits show the English foxhound Barbaro and Calypso, a French foxhound. The images are larger than life, even heroic, in size. Looking out from the main panel, the gazes of the central four hounds seem to follow a viewer about the room.

Around 1870-1880 a half-size lithographic print was published that joined the three original portraits in a single panel. As a young boy, the writer and cartoonist James Thurber encountered the portrait in the home of his maternal grandfather, William Fisher, in Columbus, Ohio.

Thurber identified the print as “the Duke of Westminster’s hunting dogs,” and he remarked that the dignity and sadness in the dogs’ expressions made a lasting impression on him. The images of the dogs “so impressed Thurber that he spent the rest of his life drawing them,” said Thurber biographer Charles S. Holmes.

The image of the “Thurber dog” is well known: a whimsical line drawing of a long-eared hound. But for all their humorous appeal, Thurber’s cartoon dogs signify much more than whimsy. Thurber himself once described his dog as “a sound creature in a crazy world.”

As biographer Neal A. Grauer explains, “In a world filled with conflict and guilt, the dog, with his simple needs and unquestioning loyalties, represents a wholeness and a harmony with the outer world and the world of self which man has tragically lost. Thurber’s dogs are his contact with peace and innocence.”

Thurber himself observed, “They say that Man is born to the belief that he is superior to the lower animals, and that critical intelligence comes when he realizes that he is more similar than dissimilar. . . . it has occurred to me that Man’s arrogance and aggression arise from a false feeling of transcendency, and that he will not get anywhere until he realizes, in all humility, that he is just another of God’s creatures, less kindly than Dog, possessed of less dignity than Swan, and incapable of becoming as magnificent an angel as Black Panther.”

During Thurber’s childhood the “Duke of Westminster’s hunting dogs” print was common in American homes. A century later, it is rarely seen. But more recently, it served as the inspiration for the name of the great and tragic racehorse Barbaro. A copy of the print was a family possession of Mr. Jackson’s mother, and the portrait of the foxhound appealed to Roy and Gretchen Jackson when it came time to name their promising young thoroughbred.

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have now named Barbaro’s three young brothers after the Comte de Barral’s Nicanor, Lentenor, and Margano. They may one day prove themselves to be champions like Barbaro. They are already another link in the chain connecting art, sport, literature and the bonds of admiration and affection that unite humankind with the animals who share our world.

For more information, visit the sites below.

NPR interview with Gretchen Jackson: Morning Edition, May 18, 2007

Thurber’s humor revisited in The Washington Post

A note to all who care about animals

In American society, beloved animals like Barbaro and a large population of well-loved household companion animals are greatly outnumbered by animals who are not fortunate enough to have devoted caretakers.

Many companion animals—mainly dogs and cats—end up lost, abandoned, abused or neglected. Millions will die in American animal shelters this year because there are not enough homes for them. At the same time, inhumane puppy mills will continue to breed millions more, promoting the cycle of suffering, despair and death.

To those who share our concern for the plight of these homeless and mistreated animals, please remember that spaying and neutering can help end needless deaths in shelters.

Please visit the following sites for resources and information about animal welfare and share them with your friends.

Petfinder.com: the on-line source for adoptable pets

Additional information about humane treatment of animals can be found here:

Alley Cat Allies - resources for feral cat management

HSUS: Stop Puppy Mills

--The Editors

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The Comte de Barral's Hunting Dogs

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