Skip to content

A Canny Customer

Geikie, Walter, Etching
A Canny Customer
A Canny Customer
A Canny Customer
Share
Category
Museums & Galleries Item
Item no
31395
Title
A Canny Customer
Description
Cattle were among the most important livestock for ordinary 19th century households, and buying a cow was a serious task that required great care.

In this etching a family group inspect a cow offered for sale. The potential purchaser crouches to examine the animal's teeth while the owner holds the horns to keep it still. The artwork's title indicates the wariness of the customer to buy before he has fully assessed the beast - 'canny' is an old Scots term for being prudent and shrewd.

The general scene portrayed in this image was not an original observation. David Wilkie's painting Pitlessie Fair (1804) also features a buyer inspecting the teeth of a struggling cow. Yet Geikie invests the figures in his study with a greater depth of personality. The two women watch pensively as the crouching man squints into the cow's mouth. Meanwhile, the owner's expression betrays the strain of controlling the animal and his hopes of an imminent sale.
Artist / maker
Type
Location
City Art Centre
Accession number
1978/1118