The cow is stated to have been sent to Queen Victoria from Jersey in 1843 and, according to the artist, was named Victoria because of the V-shaped mark between her horns. She is standing with two of her calves and a yearling in a meadow on the Isle of Wight, with the sea in the distance. The artist had some difficulty when he went to Osborne to paint the animals. In his autobiography he described the occasion: 'The spot chosen for the scenery of the background was at the farm, near a haystack, under which I sat, and the seeds and small particles blowing from it on to my painting were very annoying, more particularly as the day was a hot one in June, with a cloudless sky, but with a very trying East wind. Everything combined to make the poor animal very fidgety'.

When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert saw the painting they were very pleased, but slightly critical of the dock leaves and little pool in the foreground which they thought might give the wrong impression of the efficiency of their farming at Osborne.

Signed and dated: T. Sidy. Cooper ARA / 1848. Inscribed on the back with the name of the artist and the date, 1848.