5 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Dogs Playing Poker’
"Dogs Playing Poker" - You could call it a classic piece of Americana. Or, you might call it just a piece of 'you-know-what'. Either way, come in and take a look at FIVE things you may not know about the K9 classic!
It's hard not to be a fan of the "Dogs Playing Poker" series of paintings. They're just so dang whimsical- why would dogs be acting like humans?! That's crazy! Back when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker back in 2003, I became a Texas Hold-Em nut. I couldn't get enough- I even held my own "MoneyMaker" tournaments, though I never won a single tourney-
Part of my Texas Hold-Em fanaticism was "Dogs Playing Poker"-I got a calendar one year that featured the paintings... I learned a few things from that calendar. Are you ready to see if YOU know things about "Dogs Playing Poker"?
Here we go!
WHO PAINTED 'DOGS PLAYING POKER?
In 1903, artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge was hired by Cigar manufacturer Brown & Bigelow hired Coolidge to take his painting of dogs- in human-like situations, like playing poker, and use them in their advertising.
HOW MANY 'DOGS PLAYING POKER PAINTINGS ARE THERE'
Coolidge did 16 versions of dogs in different scenarios-which we'll get too, but there are NINE of the 'Dogs Playing Poker'
WHERE ELSE TO 'THE DOGS' GO?
LOTS of different places-
WHAT ELSE IS COOLIDGE KNOWN FOR?
Coolidge also was an inventor- he was the guy that invented 'comic foreground' that thing you see at carnivals and midways-
DID COOLIDGE GET RICH FROM 'POKER'?
Like many artists, Coolidge did not reap much off his art while he lived. He did live a nice life with his wife (whom he married when he was 64 and she was 23) and their daughter, but his wife ended up bringing in the money. HOWEVER, as recently as 2005, two original 'Dogs Playing Poker' sold at auction for a whopping $590,400!
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