dogs for your drapes

Courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

Considering how alertly these hunting dogs leap upon the boars and hinds in this panel, I'm surprised at how calm the leopards appear.  The object's page at the Indianapolis Museum of Art doesn't indicate where it was made; were leopards part of the scenery there, or did a European workshop include them to show the valor of the patron's hounds? This textile was made circa 1600, and still retains luscious color. 

a new take on chasing a dog

In which the English cleric and wit Sydney Smith finds himself at Sir Edwin Landseer's studio chasing down a dog in the oddest way...

* * *
Sydney Smith was once visiting the Landseer studio, and his eye chanced to light on the picture of a very peculiar-looking dog.
“Yes, it's a queer picture of a queer dog. The drawing is bad enough, and never pleased me!” And Landseer picked up the picture and gave it a toss out of the window. “You may have it if you care to go get it,” he carelessly remarked to the visitor. Smith made haste to run downstairs and out of the house to secure his prize. He found it lodged in the branches of a tree.
In telling the tale years afterward, Smith remarked that, whereas many men had climbed trees to evade dogs, yet he alone of all men had once climbed a tree to secure one.

-- from Hubbard, Elbert, 1856-1915. Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Painters. Miriam ed East Aurora, N.Y.: The Roycrofters, 1911-12. p, 123-4.

happy birthday paul klee

Today's Google doodle honors Paul Klee.  Longtime readers know that I have a great deal of affection for Klee, not just as an artist but as a person, not least for his deep affection for cats.  Because many of the works I would love to show you are still under copyright, and everyone else has posted "Cat and Bird," I'll give you some links instead:
The adorable Tomcat's Turf
A Pride of Lions (Why not?)
A Kind of Cat
Cat Staring at the Moon

Do read his Diaries if you ever have the chance.  They are so curious, full of wonder, and also full of references to the family cats.

cats on the page

Oh boy!  The British Library's "Cats on the Page" exhibit is up through March 17, 2019!  Read all about it here.

thomas bewick notes a sagacious dog

see below for attribution

Thomas Bewick (English, 1753-1828) was a naturalist and wood-engraver whose studies and work gained him an excellent reputation as an artist and scholar.  Here's an excerpt from his letters in whch an ancient sheepdog brings him - eventually - just the right model:

* * *
I shall, however, notice an instance, as it happened to occur between my two friends, Mr. Smith, of Woodhall, and Mr. Bailey. The latter, in connection with his report on Cheviot sheep, had given a bad figure of a ram of that breed. This was construed into a design to lessen the character of Mr. Smith's Cheviot sheep, on which, in April, 1798, the latter sent for me to draw and engrave a figure of one of his rams, by way of contrasting it with the figure Mr. Bailey had given. The colour Mr. Smith gave to the business was, not to find fault with Mr. Bailey's figure, but to show hew much he (Mr. Smith) had improved the breed since Mr. Bailey had written his report. Whilst I was at Woodhall, I was struck with the sagacity of a dog belonging to Mr. Smith. The character for sagacity of the Shepherd's Dog was well-known to me, but this instance of it was exemplified before my own eyes. Mr. Smith wished to have a particular ram brought out from amongst the flock, for the purpose of my seeing it. Before we set out, he observed to the shepherd, that he thought the old dog (he was grey-headed and almost blind) would do well enough for what he wanted with him. Before we reached the down, where the flock was feeding, I observed that Mr. Smith was talking to the dog before he ordered him off on his errand; and, while we were conversing on some indifferent subject, the dog brought a ram before us. Mr. Smith found a deal of fault with the dog, saying, Did I not order you so and so? and he scolded him for bringing a wrong sheep, and then, after fresh directions, set him off again to bring the one he wished me to see. We then returned home, and shortly after our arrival there, the dog brought the very ram wanted, along with a few other sheep, into the fold, where I took a drawing of him.
* * *

From Bewick, Thomas, 1753-1828. A Memoir of Thomas Bewick. Newcastle-on-Tyne: Printed by Robert Ward for Jane Bewick , 1862. 182-3.

The illustration: By Thomas Bewick - http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/345995This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons by as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60859319

gainsborough's dogs

british librry flickr

In the following anecdote, the painter Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) and his wife Margaret use the family dogs as intermediaries when domestic quarrels arise.  I could wish Margaret's spaniel had spoken up less submissively, but (sigh) we are talking about 18th-century England.
***
GAINSBOROUGH AND HIS WIFE AND THEIR DOGS.

Thomas Gainsborough, the rival of Sir Joshua in portraiture, wanted that evenness of temper which the President of the Royal Academy so abundantly possessed. He was easily angered, but as soon appeased, and says his biographer, "If he was the first to offend, he was the first to atone. Whenever he spoke crossly to his wife, a remarkably sweet-tempered woman, he would write a note of repentance, sign it with the name of his favourite dog 'Fox' and address it to his Margaret's pet spaniel, 'Tristram.' Fox would take the note in his mouth, and duly deliver it to Tristram. Margaret would then answer 'My own dear Fox, you are always loving and good, and I am a naughty little female ever to worry you, as I too often do, so we will kiss and say no more about it; your own affectionate Tris.'" The writers of such a correspondence could not have led what is called "a cat and dog life." Husbands and wives might derive a hint from this anecdote; for we know, from the old ballad, that they will be sulky and quarrel at times even about getting "Up to bar the door!"

***

From a collection of animal anecdotes with a name I find pretty funny:

White, Adam, 1817-1879. Heads And Tales, Or, Anecdotes And Stories of Quadrupeds And Other Beasts Chiefly Connected With Incidents In the Histories of More Or Less Distinguished Men. London: J. Nisbet, 1870. pp. 100-101.

grandmaster matouenpeluche

image copyright and by kindest permission of the artist

I do love to feature Samantha Battersby of matouenpeluche once in a while!  (Remember the last time?)  Here's Grandmaster Kitten, her tribute to Grandmaster Flash.  Read about it on her blog here.

1910: portrait of wife and dog

Konrad Krzyżanowski [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In this 1910 portrait by the Polish Expressionist painter Konrad Krzyanowski, his wife and their dog are providing a painterly opportunity.  I've posed for my husband as he paints or draws me, and I well recognize that patient, purposeful stillness as she leans into the chair.  Speaking of the the chair, how curious that it dissolves into thin air around her, as though it was there to provide the idea of domesticity rather than hard evidence.  Meanwhile the family dog sits at alert, and probably has for several minutes on end at this point, because the Other Human He Loves is looking at him and paying attention to him.  Something I see frequently in discussions on pets is the statement "We don't deserve dogs," said in reference to the purity of their love.  I think the paleness of this image is a larger thematic play off that purity, reflecting this moment, these relationships.

tgif

thanks vintage printable (PD)

Yes, it's Friday....time to come home after work, take a bath and do your own thing. This illustration from an 1869 book titled Les chats: histoire, moeurs, observations, anecdotes (Cats: History, morals, observations, anecdotes) is based on a watercolor by the great Swiss cat painter Gottfried Mind.

march 2017 - the eiteljorg museum features dogs

thanks pixabay (not an image in the eiteljorg show, fyi)

The (Indianapolis, IN) Eiteljorg Museum's upcoming show "Dogs: Faithful and True" opens March 4 2017.  The exhibition focuses on the intersection of dogs with Native American cultures and the West, and how that interaction has shaped those societies.  I wish I could go!
Read the press release here.
There is a curatorial discussion of dogs in paintings on May 5, and a day's worth of programming on May 13.

a huge collection of contemporary cat art - and all he did was ask

Clive Barker sent a drawing of a demon-eared cat, with wide eyes and full lips - not scary, but playful.
Jonathan Richman sent a watercolor of a sweet grey kitty chilling on a street corner.
Roy DeForest sent a cat portrait collage.
Tony Menodoza sent a photo of Ernie.
...And R. Crumb - this is when I squealed out loud - wrote a letter with a detailed drawing of his cat Bernie.
What lucky duck got this and more?  Patrick Eddington, a high school art teacher in Utah.  He'd write any creative person who struck his fancy, writers and visual artists alike, and ask if they'd share a cat-themed work with him.  He called it the "Cat Project."
It worked.
Mr. Eddington passed away earlier this year, and his collection went up for auction.  Part of the proceeds are to benefit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, as he always meant it to do.  I know you'll enjoy the randomness of what was on offer, and you must see the Crumb letter.

more like "dog and children"

By Paul Klee (1879-1940) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In "Kinder und Hund" (Children and Dog, watercolor and pen dated 1920) Paul Klee captures a group of little beings by personality.  There's the openness and innocence of the round-faced baby at front and center, and to the right two more querulous siblings looking askance at whatever this is Klee's doing.  At left, is that an older sister?  She seems on the cusp of womanhood, her lips full and eyes wide.  

Then dead center top, equal to his humans and full of alert presence:

You can't look away from that face; he's the heart of the group, and you keep circling round and coming back to him.  Klee's always good for that.  To Klee, the household animals were always complete citizens and family, and I love him for it.

le corbu's dog, and other odd fates

Hyperallergic has a list of the odd fates that befell a few pets belonging to big names in the arts.  Longtime Museum friends will have seen a couple before (Goldfleck the Lion, anyone?) but I really hadn't heard - and didn't expect - Le Corbusier's memorial to his dog.  Well, wait.  We ARE talking about Le Corbusier here.  I shouldn't rule out anything.  (No pets harmed - this is all postmortem.)
List is here.

odds and ends for friday

A Friday list:

Somebody tried to set gallerist Sean Kelly's dogs on fire. (He didn't make it though.)

Snoop Dogg painted a portrait of Martha Stewart's dog.

How did I miss this "Illustrated Study of Black Cats" last December?

Sheer delight!  Cats memorialized in bronze, worldwide!

How bad would it have to be to put a cat up as a model for polite behavior?

1920: H.P. Lovecraft writes a typically creepy short story championing cats.

We have a recordbreaking storm coming in here the Pacific NW, so I'll post this now before the power blows.  Stay safe all, and if you're up here with me, get all your tribe inside!

kitten playtime

wikiart.org. (PD)

This gentle, playful scene is an example of shin-hanga, an art movement of early 20th-century Japan in which traditional printmaking was bent to subjects that reflected an artist's individual view and mood.  This one, "Cats with Ball," is by Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945), who produced work designed to appeal to Western audiences.  I wonder if he meant to sneak in the yin/yang reference, or if he just thought white and black were delicious against that soft periwinkle field (which it is).

street cats 7-2016

i took this!

The photo doesn't do it justice, but here's a curious mural one block south of Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland at SE 46th.  I think the cat is transmitting his thoughts to his person...though I always figured cats considered more than bugs and fish.

june on the lawn

From The New York Public Library http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/

Here's what you would have seen on the cover of your Harper's Magazine in June 1897:  another in a long series of bold, seasonally appropriate graphics by Edward Penfield, the master of American poster and graphic art.  If this looks a lot like Toulouse-Lautrec to you, you're quite right.  Penfield adapted Toulouse-Lautrec's bold approach, as well as the celebration of the simple fleeting moment found in Japanese prints. (The 1890's were a prime decade for the Western adaptation of the "new" Japanese art influence - we call that "Japonisme.")  Here's an essay on Penfield, and here's a cover I adore (it's for March - get it?).

a tiff howick hare

image copyright and by kindest permission of tiff howick

Here's a hare of elegance and energy from the studio of English artist Tiff Howick.  When I first spotted this I thought to myself that it had a feel of midcentury fashion illustrations, and I was right: "I love vintage picture books and contemporary fashion illustration," Howick writes, and I see the mix.  You should definitely go to her site's gallery page and see her dogs, squirrels, and other excellent creatures.

the baronet's dog

thanks wikimedia commons {PD US no notice}

William Dobson (1611-46) may not have lived very long, but made the most of his brief time on earth.  He is considered by some art historians as one of the first major and notable British painters, and you can see why in this portrait of Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet.  The dog is there as the usual symbol of loyalty, but the way that greyhound is half up in his master's lap and holding paws with him is tender.  Sir Richard was a diplomat and a poet, a life which would require a great deal of awareness and sensitivity, and he looks like he had it.  His dog would know.

Here's the first four lines of a poem Sir Richard wrote, "A Rose."

Blown in the morning, thou shalt fade ere noon. 

What boots a life which in such haste forsakes thee? 

Thou'rt wondrous frolic, being to die so soon, 

And passing proud a little colour makes thee.

You may read the rest here at Bartleby.com.

open wide! two cats one matchbox

found on flickr, user wackystuff. creative commons attribution-noncommercial 2.0 generic

What do I know about this matchbox label?
1.  It is attributed to Japan circa 1910.
2.  It is terrific.
3. I wish I could translate it.
The art of vintage matchboxes is a rich trove for collectors.  Here's a short article from Collectors Weekly to introduce this affordable, inventive genre of creativity.