A series of paintings "Dogs play poker" at one time became a real event in the art world. Interest in the unusual works of Cassius Coolidge does not subside today. I want to look at them for a long time, noticing all the new piquant details, the emotions of the characters, winning or hopeless card combinations.
The unusual plot, embodied by the artist, inspired both his contemporaries and admirers of 21st century art. Our article will talk about these unusual works.
The idea
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Cassius Cooling received an order from a trading company to write a series of works that will be printed on an advertising calendar. Since cigars were the strategic product of the customer, they certainly had to be present in the paintings - this condition was the only one. For the rest, Cassius was given complete freedom.
He decided to realize his idea and portray anthropomorphic dogs dressed up in frock-coats and bowlers at the card table. The right atmosphere was emphasized by cigar smoke.
The author of the paintings “Dogs Play Poker” created a really successful advertising product. The customer immediately liked him and found a response in the hearts of the average man. Images were used to print calendars, which were sold in huge numbers.
Pictures included in the series
The artist created sixteen paintings. But dogs only play poker in nine of them. However, the plots of other works have something in common with the main idea of the series.
All paintings are characterized by a realistic style of the image, emotionality, a certain proportion of sarcasm.
Some stories
Pay attention to the passions that prevail where dogs play poker! Coolidge's paintings immerse the viewer in a peculiar world. In addition, each of the works is special. Let's consider some of them in more detail.
In the picture “A friend is in need,” we see a couple of bulldogs cheating by passing cards to each other. This is bearing fruit: they have already managed to disrupt the main bank.
“Bold Bluff” and “Waterloo” are sister paintings. At the first, a calm and confident St. Bernard with an unsuccessful combination of cards misleads the partners in the game. He's obviously bluffing! The viewer has no doubts about this, because his cards can be easily seen. But for the players, they remain a secret. And the partners in the game believed in bluffing, this can be seen in the second picture, in which our hero breaks a huge jackpot. Of course, the masterly play of St. Bernard made a splash.
But the next player was not at all lucky. He put together an excellent combination, but did not have time to win: the cops arrived. “Arrested with four aces” is the name of the picture. Whether one of the players was a cheater or the police covered an underground casino, we do not know. The author did not focus on this, giving the viewer the opportunity to interpret the background in his own way.
What happens in the painting “Visiting a Sick Friend” is clear to everyone right away. The men decided to quietly retire with the cards under the pretext of a visit to a nagging comrade, but their plans broke their wives. Ladies are furious, and gentlemen are in a panic. By the way, this is the only picture in the entire series on which there are female images.
Unprecedented popularity
A series of paintings by Cassius Coolidge has gained many connoisseurs. At the beginning of the last century, calendars with reproductions hung in almost every home, as an embodiment of involvement in fashion and art. There was a real boom on them.
Soon the dogs began to print on souvenirs, playing cards, postcards, notebooks. By the way, today a similar accessory, dating from the beginning of the century, is a welcome acquisition for many collectors.
Modern reincarnations
Today, the Dogs Playing Poker series of paintings also has a lot of fans. Like a hundred years ago, the plot is used for advertising purposes by manufacturers of products for animals, souvenirs, print media. On the Web you can find a lot of fan art, on which the heroes of popular TV shows, cartoons and even computer games sit at the card table.
Cost of paintings
Answering the question of how much “Dogs play poker” paintings cost, we can give the following example. In 2005, at an auction in New York, an unknown buyer purchased Bold Bluff and Waterloo for a private collection for nearly $ 600,000.
It is worth noting that a century-old calendar with reproduction can also cost a lot of money.