Andrew Pinkham's New 19th Century Dog Portraits

 

 

 

Maya

 

Philadelphia photographer Andrew Pinkham's dog portraits are getting a lot of attention.  Right now, they are on view at the Philadelphia International Airport where 30.6 million travelers pass through yearly.  Andrew's series entitled "Best in Show," which I featured here in April of 2009, is part of a rotating art program designed to promote local artists and give visitors a cultural taste of Philadelphia beyond cheese steaks.  For the artists, it is an opportunity share their art with the world.  As  exhibitions director Leah Douglas says, "Here, every show is a blockbuster."

Briane Bagma and Carla Messikomer view "Best in Show" at the Philadelphia International Airport. Photo by Charles Fox

Meanwhile, Andrew continues to work on his 19th century style photography and he sent me some of his latest works.   Over at his blog, his recent post about imbuing small dogs with dignity made me laugh:

Ever since I’ve been working on this series, I have always strived to have the animal portraits that I do show the subject in a heroic light.  Try as I may with the smaller breeds, to me, they look more cute and comical rather than regal & refined.  The more that I do of these, the more I see that specific breeds dictate a large part of what the final outcome and mood of the portrait will be.  There is a freeing quality to this way of thinking in that I always try to magnify everything about the subject. If it brings out their personality and adds to the image, I'm all for it.

I think every small dog owner can relate.  Here are some of Andrew's new dog portraits:

Figaro

 

Charlie

 

Belle

 

Henry

 

Holly

Andrew is also expanding into human portraits, with his goal being "to do work that has the same look and feel, no matter what is in front of my lens and in my thoughts."  Here is one of his recent subjects, a cycling enthusiast:

 

Brian

Visit Andrew Pinkham's website to see more of his work.  Read more about the Philadelphia International Airport's rotating art exhibit in Linda Lloyd's article in the Philadelphia Inquierer.

P.S. Hat tip to my cousin Clair "Answer Girl" Lamb who was recently in Philadelphia and let me know about Andrew's airport show.

P.P.S. I think Maya, the Cocker Spaniel on the bicycle, is an interesting complement to yesterday's photo of the Cocker Spaniel on the 500 lb. bomb. Perhaps both photos could be used in a "Bikes Not Bombs" campaign.