dog. just dog

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum,
Gift of Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs. Francis Ormond in memory of their brother, John Singer Sargent.
 © President and Fellows of Harvard College

All of 3 9/16" x 5", this pencil sketch by John Singer Sargent found its way to his sisters Violet and Emily upon his death in 1925. They gave it to the Fogg Art Museum in 1931.  My favorite part of this drawing?  The eyes. Two little heavy presses of the pencil, and you've got a perfect look at that particular weariness only a dog shows in his sleep.  Cats?  Total absence of care as they nap.  Some dogs though always look like they're guarding their universe still in their dreams.

a cat guards a sketchbook

courtesy of Wellcome Collection, CC_BY

1859:  Emily M. Madden opens her sketchbook, which she will fill with drawings of the cat Mouton, his (?) friends and his adventures.  And since it's his book, Emily thought he'd want to make sure everyone knew.  "This is my book.  Miau-u-u!" This is all I know about Mouton and Emily, but I could not pass either of them by this morning.

an array of cats

Lorenz Froelich, Studier af katte, 1839, Statens Museum for Kunst, www.smk.dk, public domain

One of these cat studies is the merest three-line ink sketch of two closed eyes and a nose.  Do you see it?  The wonderful thing about it is that it still looks exactly like a cat and nothing else.  This simplicity is all the more wonderful when you look at all the work of Danish painter/illustrator Lorenz Froelich (1820-1908). Froelich produced an extremely large amount of art including public art commissions and wall hangings, but it is as a book illustrator that he is best known.  You can see a sizable sampling of his work here.  He was best known, and very well known, for his illustrations for children's books.  Those tend to be intricately crafted and detailed, as you'll see here in his work for the book A Butterfly Chase.  This page of cat studies shows us how this craftsman built his forms from the essence up, from two eyes and a nose to a fully furred and articulated feline face.

cat ride

Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
https://www.freersackler.si.edu/object/F1953.31/

Leave it to the cat to find the warmest, cushiest seat handy, even if it's on the human.  This work by the great Persian miniaturist Reza Abbasi (c. 1565-1635) is titled "Man with Cat," and though it measures merely 3 11/16" x 2 x 1/16" it has a snug presence. Abbasi was celebrated for the grace and versatility of his lines, and you can see that very well here. Compare the bold strokes that establish the man's body with the sketched, washed lines of the tree, and then the incredibly fine work of the cat's face as he savors his perch.

draw a hedgehog in french

By patricia m from france (les animaux 55) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

From a French book of drawing instructions titled "Les Animaux tels qu'ils sont" (Animals As They Are):  here is how you draw Le Herisson, The Hedgehog.  Bonus! Le Porc-Epic (porcupine!) at the bottom!
Would you like to see the whole book?  It has instructions for a very large variety of animals, and is lovely in its own right. Here you are.

little beggar

courtesy national galleries of scotland

Here's "Olaf the Dog Begging," by William Bell Scott (Scottish, 1811-1890), dated 1862.  A friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who was also no slouch at a winsome pet sketch, Scott wrote intimate accounts of Rossetti's Pre-Raphaelite circle.  Known for his landscapes and history paintings, Scott also added industrial themes to his work, one of the first British artists to do so. 
And then he took time out one day to dash off a beady-eyed supplication from his best friend.

Credit line: Purchased 1950.  Link to object webpage here.

a dog watches over words

public domain, courtesy of the british library. link to page here

This floppy-eared boy lies in watch over one page of a Dutch Book of Hours dating c. 1420 and very likely belonging to a nun.  He shares duty with a dragon, so he's not too worried.

From the British Library, below:
Book of Hours, with the Hours of the Virgin, the Short Hours of the Holy Cross, Prayers and Suffrages (ff. 8-179v), imperfect. Netherlands, N. (Utrecht or Guelders), c. 1420, Dutch, by The Master of the Morgan Infancy Cycle. Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts.

cat and mouse, with a twist

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, www.brooklynmuseum.org (CC-BY)

Is it difficult to think that ancient people had a sense of humor?  The Egyptians certainly did, which isn't a surprising trait in such a rational and life-affirming civilization.  Here's a sketch to prove it:  a cat - note its lovely dotted coat, typical of an Egyptian Mau - offers goodies to an imperious mouse.  Wait, what? (There's more on the object record page at the Brooklyn Museum's site.)  It's sketched on an ostracon, which is a scrap of pottery or stone  used for notes or sketching; much cheaper than papyrus for tomfoolery.  Date on this funny scene? Around 1295-1075 B.C.E.

cat of liberty

http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb40295786c  (PD) c. 1777-1824

That's what the caption to this intense feline portrait says: "Chat de la liberte," adding "D'apres nature" (from life).  Why does this cat embody liberty?  It seems only Jean-Jacques Lequeu, its illustrator, knew.  Lequeu was an architect and draughtsman in the days leading up to the French Revolution, specializing in visionary, impractical, even eccentric building plans.  He also created a number of more domestic drawings, such as the one above (and a number of pornographic ones).
Lequeu, I think, was one of those people who lives keenly for a particular time and place, and never quite recalibrates afterward.  Post-Revolution, he became a civil servant instead of an architect.

kangaroo and squirrel. really

courtesy www.rijkmuseum.nl (PD)

"Eekhoorn in een boom en een kangoroe," reads the title of this graceful drawinng by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof (Dutch, 1866-1924).  That is, it's a Squirrel In a Tree and a Kangaroo.  Not sure where Dijsselhof ever clapped eyes on a Kangoroe, but I've never seen such a curvaceous one (and that was a dead giveaway for his Arts and Crafts - era leanings).  Want to refer to the record at the Rijkmuseum?  Here is that link.

an arctic dog

James Ward, 1769–1859, British, Arctic Dog, Facing Left, undated, Graphite on medium, smooth, cream, wove paper, mounted on, modertately thick, slightly textured, beige, laid paper, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

One of the things I learned when I looked into the Royal Academician James Ward is that he's considered a largely neglected artist as far as art history is concerned.  I'm ready to back that up after several attempts to check links to this reference or that page only to find them 404'd out of what passes for memory these days.  Still, that doesn't change the fact that Ward was a powerful Romantic stylist with a great feel for the animals he portrayed.  While Romanticism with a capital R glorified the power of individual emotion and of nature, it also - in the best hands - knew how to find that in smaller subjects.  In this case, we have Ward taking a moment to rough out the intelligent, friendly face of an "Arctic dog," something - someone - new and different from the usual country hounds and horses.

feline fine with tessa worley...and a Pet Museum announcement!

image copyright and by kindest permission of the artist

Eugene artist Tessa Worley has a light, clean-lined, joyful style.  I find it a perfect mix of modern approach and timeless sweetness, as you see above in her print "Feline Fine."  (Have a look at this Gainsborough series of cat studies for the timeless part! See what I mean?  Are you feline fine too?  Then you can pick up this happy print at Worley's Etsy shop, Fox and Bear Paper Co.)

That is why she was my final artist of choice for the newest Pet Museum project - pet votives based on the 7-day saints' candles.  Though you could light these in memory of a beloved dog or cat, they also serve perfectly for a new-puppy gift, or simply because your pet makes you happy.  Shine a little light!  Here's Worley's perfect work, two watercolors that I commissioned from her specially:

copyright 2017 the pet museum 

copyright the pet museum

The back label is also a work of art.  I'll post that tomorrow or Sunday.

I asked Tessa Worley about her work, and here's her statement:

Watercolor and illustration are a type of creative therapy for me. More specifically, illustrating animals brings so much joy to my everyday life. I feel lucky to do what I do and get so much fulfillment out of the various projects I have my hands in. This project with The Pet Museum meant a lot to me because I, like so many others, have experienced pet loss and the lasting devastation that comes with that. These votives are a thoughtful way to remember our old friends and a reminder to stay in the present moment with the animals that are still with us.

These watercolors, immediate, simple, heartfelt, were exactly what I wanted.  My great thanks to Tessa Worley!  Stay tuned, all.

jordaens feels sympathy for an expecting mom, 1638

courtesy www.rijkmesum.nl

Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) was apprenticed to the same painter that taught Rubens.  Unlike Rubens, Jordaens stayed close to home in Antwerp, creating large history commissions and portraits.  Some of those portraits were of royalty.  Some humbler portraits were of dogs, like this one executed in red and black chalks in 1638.  Here Jordaens spent some time sketching a pregnant dog; the Rijksmuseum thinks she's probably a vizla, a Hungarian breed famed for hunting ability.

the lively lines of julie pfirsch

copyright and by kindest permission of the artist

Julie Pfirsch once wanted to be a dog when she grew up.  When I read that on her website, I knew I'd found the real deal:  she decided to be an artist instead, and bring all that excellence of dog soul to her energetic, well crafted and vibrant pet portraits.  (Here's her Instagram too.)  This pittie portrait, above, was the first to catch my eye with its disciplined knowledge of dog anatomy, yet the bright strikes of color give it motion and verve.  A glimpse of her Etsy shop shows more examples.  Most of them are in colored pencil, with a soft and layered feel to the color.  You'll see she also works in acrylics, bolder and brighter, and in oils for a stately and timeless capturing.
I keep looking at the portrait above with such pleasure; I want to throw a ball for him, as he seems so very ready to go.
http://www.juliepfirsch.com/
https://www.instagram.com/paintmyfaceoff/

1929: a sweet sketch of a kitten's slumber

By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

This essence of catnap is found on page 72 of "Alexander and Some Other Cats," a 1929 compilation by the New England artist and photographer Sarah J. Eddy.  It's a sketch by her own hand, simple realism with sure technical skill.  Eddy was an alumna of the Art Students League of New York and the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, and the daughter of an artistic family.  This same family instilled in her a active political sensibility; Eddy was active in the anti-slavery, women's suffrage, and animal rights movements, and at her death (in 1945, at 93!) she was director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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.

a little face peeps out

thanks wikiart.org (PD)

Here's Theophile Steinlen (1859-1923), sketching a cat curled up, snug and sassy - but wait, there's two little ears and two little eyes having a look at things from behind the safety of Mom.  "Mother Cat," date unknown.  Some more lovely Steinlen cats are posted here at the excellent blog Animalarium.

a well tailed pug

Susanna Duncombe (née Susanna Highmore)
Three Sketches of a Pug Dog
Photographic Rights © Tate (2015)
Available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) licence
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duncombe-three-sketches-of-a-pug-dog-t04297

The artist and poet Susanna Duncombe (English, c 1830 - 1812) was the daughter of the artist Joseph Highmore.  Though talented, she seems to have engaged in the creation of art primarily as a pastime; she was married to the politician John Duncombe, and didn't need to rely on her brush for her living.  This sketch must be of one or more of her pets, who may have been crossed with marmosets (kidding).  If you have a pug with such a lavish tail, I want to know.

come and get it

photo credit: yale university art gallery (PD)

I think he'll need more than one bowl.  No doubt that's what Edwin Austen Abbey (American, 1852-1911) was thinking too when he sketched this "Old Man feeding his cats."  (That's how it's cataloged.  It looks more like an old woman to me, but I don't work at Yale, so the hell with your friendly curator.) Abbey earned a great deal of acclaim in his day; his most famous work is the series of "Quest for the Holy Grail" murals at the Boston Public Library, and he was made a member of the Royal Academy after setting in London, to name a couple of high points.  Still, here he is taking a moment and a pencil to scratch up a scene we all know well: dinnertime for the tribe.  I am in awe of how perfectly Abbey indicates fluid cat anatomy with the merest outline.  Look at the white cat under the bowl, looking up with what you know is longing, head tilted to the Holy Milk Grail.

draw a bird day 2016

i can't draw

I heard it from a Mutts comic: April 8th is Draw a Bird Day.  All you have to do is draw a bird and share it.  The point?  Sharing.  This began in an English hospital in 1943, when a little girl went to visit her uncle.  He had been wounded in the war, and to distract him the little girl asked him to draw her a bird.  So he did:  a bird which was not great art, but made her laugh and promise to put it on her wall.  Soon fellow patients were handing her this bird drawing and that, and as these things do, it snowballed from there.  Why April 8th?  That was the little girl's birthday.  Sadly, she never lived to be old, but the birds happen every year inn her memory.  The Draw a Bird Day website will tell you the whole story, and has lots of birds to share.
And me, your friendly Curator? I cannot draw, but I love wrens a great deal.  Here's my wren.  What did you draw?