[4] The oil painting was commissioned by Joseph Banks based on his observations of dingoes on the east coast of Australia in 1770 during Lieutenant James Cook's first voyage of discovery.

The painting had been on view in recent years at Parham House in West Sussex during public openings.

[5] In 2012, Portrait of a Large Dog and The Kongouro from New Holland were purchased together at auction for 9.3 million Australian dollars by an undisclosed buyer.

Sir David Attenborough, who had led a campaign to keep both portraits in Britain remarked that it was "exciting news that these two pictures, so important in the history of zoological discovery, are to remain where they were commissioned and painted".

[6] In November 2013 it was announced that a £1.5million donation from the Eyal Ofer Family Foundation will enable the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London to acquire the two paintings.