The Monarch of the Glen (painting) favourite of Queen Victoria, and had become famous for his paintings and drawings of animals. His later works include the sculptures of the lions at the foot of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. From the 1840s, he produced a series of intricately observed studies of stags based on those he had seen on the trips he had been making to the Scottish Highlands since 1824. In 1850, Landseer received a national commission to paint three subjects connected with the chase for the Refreshment Rooms of the House of Lords, for which he produced "Monarch of the Glen" and two other
John Landseer had previously only exhibited there once, in 1792. Some leading engravers – including Landseer's teacher, William Byrne – chose to boycott the academy completely over the issue, but Landseer hoped to challenge its rules from within. His protests, which included petitioning the Prince Regent, proved ineffective however, and the academy's policy was not changed until after his death. In 1813, he lectured at the Surrey Institution on "The Philosophy of Art". Henry Crabb Robinson, who heard Landseer speak there, described him as "animated in style, but his animation is produced by indulgence in sarcasms, and in emphatic diction." For a