The Dog Days of Summer...Playing Poker!?

I wish I could instantly know when a piece of artwork is valuable, or just original. The ability to copy printed work and then redistribute it is so commonplace that you really can’t know any more. Until I learn to appraise works of art, I’ll have to rely on an expert.

 Such was the case with the topic of the day – Dogs Playing Poker. You’ve probably seen one of these before, because at one point it seemed as though it was law to have at least one of these hanging in the rumpus room.

 That might be just a kind way of saying these were part of pop culture.

 I never gave them much notice until I purchased a print in a box lot of old paper. There’s a lot of art that I wouldn’t give a second look, but these paintings do the opposite, or what they were intended to do – get attention.

 The artist, Cassius M. Coolidge was paid a tidy sum in the early 1900’s to paint just 2, and then he followed with 14 more, 9 of them dog paintings. Employed by an advertising agency Coolidge’s paintings were duplicated on calendars, posters, etc.

 You can read my source for all this information here. Like with most of my finds, when I start to dig in their past to find out more, I usually come up with a coincidence or 2. As I looked into this man’s biography the first thing I noticed was his place of birth. Cassius Marcellus Coolidge was born in 1844 between the upstate NY towns of Antwerp and Philadelphia. So, it’s not my full name but I can’t help appreciate the randomness of my research revealing a namesake town.

 Click the link to take a look at these nostalgic “finds” while celebrating Independence Day. Can you sing the 3rd and 4th parts to the Star Spangled Banner?