Dog Art Today

Cleveland Museum of Art: Where it All Began?

The Thinker by August Rodin at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Photo by Chris Auman.

Some parents strap skis on their kids as soon as they can walk, and hit the slopes.  Mine hit the art museums.  Growing up in Cleveland, that meant I was exposed to some of the greatest art in the world at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  I have very clear memories of viewing works there and forming my tastes about art.  For example, at around age six I remember being bored by a Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin exhibition.  I am still bored by him today.   I thought every town had a May Show that explored the boundaries of Contemporary Art.  I remember the vivid primary colors I used in my Saturday morning art class sculpture.  Those colors now decorate my home.  And maybe the 1971 addition designed by Marcel Breuer where the art classes were held explains my love for stripes...

The Breuer entrance to the museum designed by Marcel Breuer.  Photo by Heidi Strean.

Last Friday, the museum hosted Dr. Edgar Peters Bowron for a lecture titled "Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today."  Dr. Bowron is also co-author of a book with the same title that I have featured here and used as a reference in my film "Dogs in Art".   In conjunction with the lecture, the museum posted some of their dog artworks on their website.  It got me thinking that even though we were a cat family and I didn't like dogs when I was young, this institution might have been where my passion for dogs in art all began.  Here are some highlights:

Dog Watching, Song Dynasty, China 960 -1279

Book of Hours, France of Flanders, early 14th century

The Blindness of Tobit by Rembrandt, 1651

Chushingura: Act VII of the Storehouse of Loyalty by Kitagawa Utamaro, late 1790s

Ludovic Lepic Holding His Dog by Edgar Degas, 1889

Untitled (Woman with Dog from Back) by Ethel Mars, 1903 - 1908

Dog by Kiyoshi Saito, 1954

I've said before that art matters. For some children, it might mean everything.

Charles Dickens's Dog Collar Sells for $11,590!

Bonhams 28th Dog Art Sale just wrapped up and the most talked about piece, Charles Dickens's leather and brass dog collar has surpassed expectations of its $4,000 - $6,000 estimate, selling for $11, 590.  The collar, engraved with the Victorian author's name, C. Dickens, Esq., and address, Gad's Hill, Place, Hingham, was featured in Bonhams's catalogue with this article depicting Dickens's fondness for his many dogs and, as in the case of General George Washington, his originality in naming them:

'All animals which he took under his especial patronage seemed to have a marked affection for him. Quite a colony of dogs has always been a feature at Gad's Hill. When Dickens returned home from his last visit to America, these dogs were frequently spoken of in his letters. In May, 1868, he writes: "As you ask me about the dogs, I begin with them. The two Newfoundland dogs coming to meet me, with the usual carriage and the usual driver, and beholding me coming in my usual dress out at the usual door, it struck me that their recollection of my having been absent for any unusual time was at once cancelled. They behaved (they are both young dogs) exactly in their usual manner; coming behind the basket phaeton as we trotted along, and lifting their heads to have their ears pulled,—a special attention which they receive from no one else. But when I drove into the stable-yard, Linda (the St. Bernard) was greatly excited, weeping profusely, and throwing herself on her back that she might caress my foot with her great fore-paws. M.'s little dog, too, Mrs. Bouncer, barked in the greatest agitation, on being called down and asked, 'Who is this?' tearing round and round me like the dog in the Faust outlines."' James T. Fields, Atlantic, August, 1870

And in case the Winter Olympics is not satisfying your need to indulge in nationalistic stereotyping, I offer you a few more dog collars to interpret based on nation of origin...

Swiss dog collars, early 20th century.  Sold for $519.

Iron dog collar with protective spikes from Germany, 17th century. Sold for $1, 342.

In the painting category, the star of the show, John Emms's The Bitchpack of the Meath Foxhounds failed to realize its $500,000 - $700,000 estimate.  But it did sell for a respectable $482,000.  Given that another Emms painting, The New Forest Hounds, sold for the world record price of $842,250 in 2006, I'd say whoever purchased The Bitchpack got a great deal.

The Bitchpack of the Meath Foxhounds by John Emms, 1896.  Sold for $482,000.

See all the auction results here.

George Washington was an avid hunter who bred and kept many dogs throughout his lifetime.  He also had a knack for original dog names: Taster, Tipler, Forester, Vulcan, Madame Moose, Searcher, and last but not least, my favorite -- Sweet Lips.  I was searching for an image of Sweet Lips and the best I could find was this anonymous etching of Washington with one of his hunting dogs.  Along with it was this incredible story about our first president and his character.  I think it's way better than the Cherry Tree tale...

Washington's affection for dogs is vividly illustrated in an incident that occurred during the Revolutionary War. It was when American forces were trying to contain British General William Howe's troops, who had occupied Philadelphia. During the Battle of Germantown, which was not going well for the Americans, Washington was encamped was encamped at Pennibecker's Mill.

On October 6, 1977, a little terrier was seen wandering the area between the American and British lines. It turns out that General Howe's little terrier had somehow gotten loose and had become lost on the battlefield. The dog was identified from its collar, and brought to Washington. His officers suggested that he might want to keep the dog as a sort of trophy which might weaken the morale of the British general.

Instead he took the dog into his tent, fed him and had him brushed and cleaned. Then, to the surprise of everyone, Washington ordered a cease fire. The shooting stopped and soldiers on both sides watched as one of Washington's aides formally returned a little dog to the British commander under a flag of truce.

From an article by Stanley Coren, Ph.D. originally in Psychology Today.  I found it at The Poodle and Dog Blog.

Happy Presidents Day!

Colonel John Bullock by Thomas Gainsborough, early 1770s,

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas is hosting a peek inside the private collections of Texas art collectors.  It looks like an intriguing show, one that includes some great pieces from Van Gogh and Munch along with the opportunity to see what some people are lucky enough to hang on their walls.  I've never seen this Thomas Gainsborough portrait of Colonel John Bullock from  in the private collection of Richard Drake of Houston.  I think it is exceptional.  Thank you for sharing, Mr. Drake.

Stephen Becker of Art & Seek reviews the exhibition entitled "From the Private Collections of Texas" here.  Visit the Kimbell Art Museum for more information.

La Suprise, the long lost Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) that was discovered earlier this year in the corner of a British drawing room after missing for 200 years, sold at Christie's this Tuesday for £12.36 million or $24.39 million.  This is a new world record Watteau and for any French master predating the advent of Impressionism in the 19th century.  (Click on image for larger view.)

I think it's the sweet little dog that pushed it over the top.

Read full story about the Christie's Old Masters sale here.

George Washington's Dog Love

George Washington was an avid hunter who bred and kept many dogs throughout his lifetime.  He also had a knack for original dog names: Taster, Tipler, Forester, Vulcan, Madame Moose, Searcher, and last but not least, my favorite -- Sweet Lips.  I was searching for an image of Sweet Lips and the best I could find was this anonymous etching of Washington with one of his hunting dogs.  Along with it was this incredible story about our first president and his character.  I think it's way better than the Cherry Tree tale...

Washington's affection for dogs is vividly illustrated in an incident that occurred during the Revolutionary War. It was when American forces were trying to contain British General William Howe's troops, who had occupied Philadelphia. During the Battle of Germantown, which was not going well for the Americans, Washington was encamped was encamped at Pennibecker's Mill.

On October 6, 1977, a little terrier was seen wandering the area between the American and British lines. It turns out that General Howe's little terrier had somehow gotten loose and had become lost on the battlefield. The dog was identified from its collar, and brought to Washington. His officers suggested that he might want to keep the dog as a sort of trophy which might weaken the morale of the British general.

Instead he took the dog into his tent, fed him and had him brushed and cleaned. Then, to the surprise of everyone, Washington ordered a cease fire. The shooting stopped and soldiers on both sides watched as one of Washington's aides formally returned a little dog to the British commander under a flag of truce.

From an article by Stanley Coren, Ph.D. originally in Psychology Today.  I found it at The Poodle and Dog Blog.

Happy Presidents Day!

Privately Held Gainsborough on View

Colonel John Bullock by Thomas Gainsborough, early 1770s,

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas is hosting a peek inside the private collections of Texas art collectors.  It looks like an intriguing show, one that includes some great pieces from Van Gogh and Munch along with the opportunity to see what some people are lucky enough to hang on their walls.  I've never seen this Thomas Gainsborough portrait of Colonel John Bullock from  in the private collection of Richard Drake of Houston.  I think it is exceptional.  Thank you for sharing, Mr. Drake.

Stephen Becker of Art & Seek reviews the exhibition entitled "From the Private Collections of Texas" here.  Visit the Kimbell Art Museum for more information.

La Suprise! Lost Watteau Breaks Record!

La Suprise, the long lost Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) that was discovered earlier this year in the corner of a British drawing room after missing for 200 years, sold at Christie's this Tuesday for £12.36 million or $24.39 million.  This is a new world record Watteau and for any French master predating the advent of Impressionism in the 19th century.  (Click on image for larger view.)

I think it's the sweet little dog that pushed it over the top.

Read full story about the Christie's Old Masters sale here.