Collection Online

Rosie sips spiders
(1988)
illustration for Rosie Sips Spiders by Alison Lester, published by Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1988, p. [12]

Medium
watercolour, pen and ink and gouache
Measurements
24.0 × 27.4 cm (image) 35.0 × 28.6 cm (sheet)
Inscription
inscribed in pencil u.c.: 13 (in a circle) … 'but Rosie sips Spiders'
inscribed in pencil (in image) l.c.r.: Alison Lester
Accession Number
2014.600
Department
Australian Prints & Drawings
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Albert Ullin OAM, 2014
© Alison Lester
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest
Gallery location
Gallery 18
Level 3, NGV Australia
About this work

The relationship between dogs and food is undeniable. Biscuits and meaty treats are extremely useful tools when training dogs, especially puppies. Unfortunately the dog’s love of food often leads them to cheeky behaviour, such as stealing or begging for what they believe is owed to them. In this work, we see Rosie’s faithful hound, tongue out at the ready, peeping into the frame in the bottom corner and begging for even a drop of Rosie’s lime spider. The dog’s eyes are so focused on the drink that they have become the same shade of green.