Dirk Valckenburg
Dutch, 1675 ‑ 1721
A Cat Protecting Spoils from a Dog, 1717
Oil on canvas
39 7/8 × 31 3/4 × 7/8 in. (101.3 × 80.6 × 2.2 cm.)
Museum purchase with funds from the estate of Alice Speed Stoll and anonymous donors  2005.18

Ambitions and Aspirations
During the 1600s, hunting was a privileged pastime restricted to royalty and the aristocracy. As the Dutch middle class grew wealthier, they began commissioning game paintings from artists like Valckenburg as a way of associating themselves with the leisure pursuits of the upper classes.