View source for Dogs Playing Poker

{{short description|Set of paintings by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge}}
{{italic title}}
{{redirect|A Friend in Need}}
[[File:Cassius Marcellus Coolidge - Poker Game (1894).png|thumb|280px|''Poker Game'', oil on canvas, 1894]]
'''''Dogs Playing Poker''''', by [[Cassius Marcellus Coolidge]], refers collectively to an 1894 painting, a 1903 series of sixteen [[oil painting]]s commissioned by [[Brown & Bigelow]] to advertise cigars, and a 1910 painting.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.ooowoo.com/dogs-playing-poker.html
 |title=Dogs Playing Poker
 |work=Ooo Woo&nbsp;– Complete Dog Resource
 |year=2008
 |access-date=September 1, 2006
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411205109/http://www.ooowoo.com:80/dogs-playing-poker.html
 |archive-date=April 11, 2017
}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2010|reason=This site is a tertiary source that cites no sources, and provides no attribution or contact information of any kind. It appears to exist solely as a place to slap up minor bits of dog, and mostly dog-food, information to which to attack Google AdSpace ads.}} All eighteen paintings in the overall series feature [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] [[dogs]], but the eleven in which dogs are seated around a card table have become well known in the United States as examples of [[kitsch]] art in home decoration.

Depictions and reenactments of the series have appeared in many films, television shows, theater productions, and other popular culture art forms. Critic Annette Ferrara has  described ''Dogs Playing Poker'' as "indelibly burned into ... the American collective-[[Kitsch|schlock]] subconscious ... through incessant reproduction on all manner of pop [[ephemera]]".<ref name="luckydog">{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.tenbyten.net/luckydog.html
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080327040522/http://www.tenbyten.net/luckydog.html
 |archive-date=March 27, 2008
 |first=Annette
 |last=Ferrara
 |title=Lucky Dog!
 |work=Ten by Ten Magazine
 |date=April 2008
 |location=[[Chicago]]
 |publisher=Tenfold Media
 |access-date=September 1, 2006
}}</ref>

The first painting, Coolidge's 1894 ''Poker Game'', sold  for $658,000 at a 2015 auction.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=That Dogs Playing Poker Painting Just Sold for Over $650,000|url=https://www.gq.com/story/dogs-playing-poker-painting-sold-for-650000|magazine=[[GQ]]}}</ref>

==Description==
The majority of the paintings ascribed to the ''Dogs Playing Poker'' moniker consist of [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] versions of dogs sitting around a [[poker table]] playing [[poker]]. The dogs presented are usually larger breeds like [[collie]]s, [[Great Dane]]s, [[St. Bernard (dog breed)|St. Bernard]]s, and general [[mastiff]]s.<ref name="AC Magazine">{{cite magazine|last=Harris|first=Moira F.|title=It's a dogs' world: According to Coolidge|magazine=Antiques & Collecting Magazine|publisher=Pioneer Communications, Inc.|date=March 1997|volume=102|issue=1|pages=26–30|issn=1084-0818}}</ref> Humans do not appear in any of the paintings, and female dogs rarely appear.<ref name="AC Magazine"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite web|last=McManus|first=James|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/sports/othersports/play-it-close-to-the-muzzle-and-paws-on-the-table.html|title=Play It Close to the Muzzle and Paws on the Table|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 3, 2005|accessdate=May 23, 2024}}</ref> According to James McManus of ''[[The New York Times]]'', the dogs are depicted as "upper-middle-class lawyers and businessmen", as they drink and smoke at the table.<ref name="NYT"/> The dogs sit on leather chairs in dimly lit rooms, adorned by a ceiling lamp.<ref name="AC Magazine"/> Some of the paintings tell a story.<ref name="AC Magazine"/> For example, in the painting ''A Bold Bluff'', a St. Bernard is holding a [[List of poker hands|pair]] of deuces, and the other dogs are questioning whether to call his [[Bluff (poker)|bluff]].<ref name="AC Magazine"/> In the painting ''Waterloo'', the same dogs did not call the St. Bernard's bluff, and he uses both paws to grab his winnings.<ref name="AC Magazine"/> Another painting in the series, titled ''A Friend in Need'', depicts a [[bulldog]] slipping an [[ace]] under the table to the dog sitting next to him.<ref name="Artsy">{{cite web|last=Arn|first=Jackson|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-painting-dogs-playing-poker-endured-100-years|title=Why This Painting of Dogs Playing Poker Has Endured for over 100 Years|website=[[Artsy (website)|Artsy]]|date=June 6, 2018|accessdate=May 23, 2024}}</ref> Common themes throughout the ''Dogs Playing Poker'' series are deception, mistrust, and confrontation.<ref name="AC Magazine"/>

Not every painting within the series depicts dogs playing poker.<ref name="Artsy"/> Some paintings depict dogs performing other human activities, such as playing [[baseball]], [[American football|football]] and dancing.<ref name="Artsy"/> In the lithograph ''Riding the Goat'', a collection of dogs initiates a St. Bernard into a fraternity while having him ride a goat while blindfolded.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moore |first1=William D. |title=Riding the Goat. Secrecy, Masculinity, and Fraternal High Jinks in the United States, 1845–1930 |journal=Winterthur Portfolio |volume=41 |number=2 |jstor=10.1086/523284}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Ben |title=Decoding the Secret Freemason Symbolism of 'Dogs Playing Poker' |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/decoding-the-secret-freemason-symbolism-of-idogs-playing-pokeri-54667 |website=Artnet |date=4 July 2014 |access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref>

== Coolidge paintings ==
[[File:Pinched with Four Aces.jpg|thumb|275px|''Pinched with Four Aces'' (1903)]]
[[File:A Friend in Need 1903 C.M.Coolidge.jpg|thumb|275px|''A Friend in Need'' (1903)]]
[[File:Cassius Marcellus Coolidge - Poker Sympathy.jpg|thumb|275px|''Poker Sympathy'' (1903)]]
[[File:Sitting up with a Sick Friend.jpg|thumb|275px|''Sitting up with a Sick Friend'' (c. 1905)]]
[[File:A Waterloo Dogs Playing Poker 2.jpeg|thumb|275px|''A Waterloo'', 1906]]

The title of Coolidge's original 1894 painting is ''Poker Game''.

The titles in the [[Brown & Bigelow]] series are:

* ''A Bachelor's Dog''&nbsp;– reading the mail
* ''A Bold Bluff'' &nbsp;– poker (originally titled ''Judge St. Bernard Stands Pat on Nothing'')<ref name="nytimes">McManus, James. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/sports/othersports/03poker.html "Play It Close to the Muzzle and Paws on the Table"], ''The New York Times'' (December 3, 2005).</ref>
* ''Breach of Promise Suit''&nbsp;– testifying in court
* ''A Friend in Need'' (1903)&nbsp;– poker, cheating
* ''Pinched with Four Aces'' (1903)&nbsp;– poker
* ''New Year's Eve in Dogville''&nbsp;– ballroom dancing
* ''One to Tie Two to Win''&nbsp;– baseball
* ''Pinched with Four Aces''&nbsp;– poker, illegal gambling
* ''Poker Sympathy'' (1903)&nbsp;– poker
* ''Post Mortem''&nbsp;– poker, camaraderie
* ''The Reunion''&nbsp;– smoking and drinking, camaraderie
* ''Riding the Goat''&nbsp;– Masonic initiation
* ''Sitting up with a Sick Friend'' (1905)&nbsp;– poker, gender relations
* ''Stranger in Camp''&nbsp;– poker, camping
* ''Ten Miles to a Garage''&nbsp;– travel, car trouble, teamwork
* ''A Waterloo'' (1906)&nbsp;– poker (originally titled ''Judge St. Bernard Wins on a Bluff'')<ref name="nytimes" />

These were followed in 1910 by a similar painting, ''Looks Like Four of a Kind''. Other Coolidge paintings featuring anthropomorphized dogs include ''Kelly Pool'', which shows dogs playing [[kelly pool]].

Some of the compositions in the series are modeled on paintings of human card-players by such artists as [[Caravaggio]], [[Georges de La Tour]], and [[Paul Cézanne]].<ref name="nytimes" />

On February 15, 2005, the originals of ''A Bold Bluff'' and ''Waterloo'' were auctioned as a pair to an undisclosed buyer for [[United States dollar|US $]]590,400.<ref>"A New York auction offers artistic treats for dog lovers", ''San Jose Mercury News'' (Feb 11, 2005).</ref> The previous top price for a Coolidge was $74,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2005/02/16/news/newsmakers/poker_dogs/|publisher=[[CNN Money]]|title='Dogs Playing Poker' sell for $590K|access-date=September 11, 2006|date=February 16, 2005}}</ref> In 2015, ''Poker Game'' sold for $658,000, currently the highest price paid for a Coolidge.

==In literature and the arts==
The paintings remained fairly well-known into the 21st century, with various passing references in a number of works.

The animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has made several references to the paintings, such as in "[[Treehouse of Horror IV]]" (1993) when Homer is driven to screaming insanity simply by looking at the surrealness of the painting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dogsplayingpoker.org/stuff/simpsons.html|title=Dogs Playing Poker in the Simpsons&nbsp;— DogsPlayingPoker.org|website=www.dogsplayingpoker.org}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2025|certain=y|reason=The website's "about" page (at https://www.dogsplayingpoker.org/about.html) says "To the best of my knowledge, all information on this website is true. It has all come from books and other sources that are listed in the bibliography. If you are trying to do some real research, I suggest looking at those sources."}} The TV sitcom ''[[Cheers (TV series)|Cheers]]'' used the paintings as a plot point in one episode. Passing references or short scenes involving the paintings occur in the 1998 season four episode "Sinking Ship" of the TV series ''[[NewsRadio]]'', in an episode of [[White Collar (TV series)|''White Collar'']], in the 2005 ''[[Suite Life of Zack and Cody]]'' episode "[[Hotel Inspector (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody)|Hotel Inspector]]", in the 2006 ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "[[Saving Private Brian]]", and the episode "[[Road to Rhode Island]]", in an episode of ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'', in an episode of the TV series ''[[Boy Meets World]]'', in the 1994 "School Daze" episode of ''[[Living Single]]'', in a 2000 episode of the TV series ''[[That '70s Show]]'', "[[Hunting (That '70s Show episode)|Hunting]]", and in the 2020 ''[[Ray Donovan]]'' season seven episode "Passport and a Gun". In an episode of ''[[Animaniacs]]'', a young [[Pablo Picasso]]'s artistic frustration is demonstrated by his producing a ''Dogs Playing Poker'' painting. ''Dogs Playing Poker'' TV ads were aired during ''[[ESPN Sunday Night Football]]'' during the 1998 and 1999 NFL seasons.

In the 1999 film ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'', Banning believes she finds a stolen [[Claude Monet]] painting in Crown's house. On expert examination it turns out to be a fake painted over a copy of ''Poker Sympathy'', a ''Dogs Playing Poker'' canvas. In the 2016 film, ''[[The Accountant (2016 film)|The Accountant]]'', the paintings are discussed by the lead characters. Later, a copy of ''A Friend in Need'' is used as a cover to hide a [[Jackson Pollock]] painting. Glimpses, passing mentions, or short scenes involving the paintings are in the 1991 film ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Hudson_Hawk.PDF|title='Hudson Hawk Screenplay'|website=The Daily Script|date=2 July 1990|access-date=2025-04-26}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2025}} the 2009 film ''[[Up (2009 film)|Up]]'', the 2006 film ''[[Barnyard_(film)|Barnyard]]'',  and in the 2022 film ''[[Puss in Boots: The Last Wish]]''. 

In the 1984 play ''[[The Foreigner (play)|The Foreigner]]'', a character complains that she doesn't want to be in her motel room because there is a "Damn picture on the wall of some dogs playin' poker."

The cover of the 1981 album, ''[[Moving Pictures (Rush album)|Moving Pictures]]'' by [[Rush (band)|Rush]], features ''A Friend in Need'' as one of the three pictures being moved. The music video for [[Snoop Dogg]]'s 1993 song, "[[What's My Name? (Snoop Doggy Dogg song)|What's My Name]]", depicts dogs playing craps while smoking cigars and wearing sunglasses.

==See also==
* [[William Wegman (photographer)|William Wegman]]
* ''[[Laying Down the Law]]'', 1840 painting

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Dogs playing poker|''Dogs Playing Poker''}}

{{Playing cards|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:1894 paintings]]
[[Category:1903 paintings]]
[[Category:1910 paintings]]
[[Category:American paintings]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic dogs]]
[[Category:Paintings of dogs]]
[[Category:Dogs in popular culture]]
[[Category:Gambling in art]]
[[Category:Modern paintings]]
[[Category:Painting series]]
[[Category:Works about poker]]
[[Category:Playing cards in art]]
[[Category:Food and drink paintings]]