I have most of the dog prints by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, professionally framed and matted. A friend of mind found them in an attic, a set of these prints. I just adore those dogs! :grin-square:
Between 1868 and 1872 Cassius Marcellus Coolidge worked as a druggist and sign painter, founded a bank and a newspaper, then moved from Antwerp, New York, to Rochester, where he started painting dogs in human situations. His poker-playing dogs are the most famous, but he also painted dogs on a commuter train and in a ballpark. Coolidge's first customers were cigar companies that printed copies of the paintings for giveaways. Coolidge eventually signed a contract with Brown & Bigelow to turn out hundreds of thousands of copies of his dog paintings for advertising posters, calendars, and prints."
Here's my favorite, entitled "Stranger in Camp."
In this painting canine fur trappers sit next to a campfire playing cards. If you look closely at the poker hands, you will notice the dog on the right has four aces. The dog on the left, however, has a straight flush, beating the other great hand. The shocked facial expression on the losing dog's face is quite remarkable, with his wide eyes and dropped jaw. Also, the winning dog is laughing quite mockingly. Four aces and a straight flush in one hand...I think there might be some cheating going on.