Picasso's Other Dogs: The Afghans and The Boxer

Picasso and Kabul by David Douglas Duncan, 1959 or later.

When my friend Tom Turley sent me a link to photographs of Pablo Picasso and his Dachshund, Lump, by David Douglas Duncan, I almost didn't click on the link.  I thought I had seen them all.  Well, aside from finding a cache of new Lump photos (I will share in a later post), I also discovered that Picasso wasn't a one dog man.

Yes, Lump the Dachshund is said to have been "the only animal Picasso took in his arms."  But clearly Picasso had a great fondness for other breeds too, especially Afghans.  As far as I can tell he owned three in his lifetime; Kabul, Kasbec, and Sauterelle.   Here are some photos.

Picasso and Kasbec.  Photographer unknown.   Via Afghan Hound Archives.

Picasso, Jacqueline Roque, and Kabul, 1962.  Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images via Jamd.

Kabul and Sauterelle by David Douglas Duncan, 1975.

This last photo was taken two years after Picasso died.  Kabul's expression breaks my heart.  Duncan described him as spending "his last days gazing at the villa as though remembering those early years when he was constantly at the side of Picasso and Jacqueline."  He died shortly after this photograph was taken.

I have yet to find any Afghans who made their way into Picasso's paintings, but many believe his 1967 sculpture in Chicago's Daley Plaza is actually Kabul's head.

Untitled, 1967

Lump the Dachshund also shared Picasso with a Boxer named Jan, seen here in a staring contest outside their master's studio...

By David Douglas Duncan, 1957

...and a goat named Esmerelda, here tied to a statue of herself...

By David Douglas Duncan, 1957

I spent several hours on David Douglas Duncan's website.  His photos are extraordinary and the online exhibition is excellent.  Click here to visit it yourself.