A Pug and her pups signed lower right 'Minna Stocks '99' oil on canvas 48 x 65cm Footnote: Exhibited: Germany, location untraced, no. 347 (remnants of an exhibition label to the reverse) Minna Stocks was born in Schwerin in 1846 and went on to train with the animal painter, Carl Steffeck (1818-1890), becoming renowned for her paintings of animals. She worked in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich, where she finally settled in 1880. Condition report: Oil on canvas which has been lined. The paint layer is in a stable condition, there is a network of prominent age cracks across the surface. The cracks have been retouched, mainly in the background but there is also some in the figures of the dogs. The retouching is slightly matte compared to the surrounding areas but generally well matched to the original. The varnish is slightly yellowed but semi-glossy and even. The frame is in a good condition, with some wear to the gilding.