The Art of Poker

There have been over the years a number of works of art that in one way or another depicted the game of poker. The question here is which of these pieces of art can appeal not only to the public at large but the poker playing community specifically. There has been a number of pieces of art that have appealed to the poker playing community, in fact they have become famous enough in their own right to become a familiar part of the social consciousness.

There are set of paintings that are now known simply as the “Dog Playing Poker” paintings. There are a total of sixteen paintings all depicting dogs going about conducting business as if they were people, nine of these sixteen painting are of dogs playing poker around a table much as people would do. These painting were done by a man called C.M Coolidge, called “Cash” by his friends. Last year two of those poker dog paintings were being sold at an auction at the Doyle at New York annual Dog in Art Auction. These paintings were expected to bring collectively almost $50 thousand dollars instead garnered almost $600,000.

The artist Coolidge was born in Antwerp, New York in the year 1844. He was not originally working as an artist; he was first a shop keeper and then a banker. Most actually very little is known about whether Coolidge had any real or formal education in painting in his early life. At a friend’s advice he did later receive some proper art instruction and upgraded his skills.

Coolidge began painting the “dogs” as a promotional marketing piece for local tobacconists. The cigar companies could use the paintings as artwork on their cigar box lids. It was in 1903 after Coolidge had been painting dogs in human situation for almost 30 years that he was approached by the firm Brown and Bigelow to paint dogs in various situations for promotional work. They offered him $10,000 dollars for two paintings, remember this is 1903. He would go on to do 16 paintings for the firm.

There were nine paintings altogether and each of them tells of the best online poker sites. This makes the paintings all the more interesting and valuable because not only is there a definitive theme but they are after a fashion a set. These paintings have been a favorite of people all over the world, mostly in the recreational rooms and home bars. Bars and taverns all over the world have had one or more of these paintings hanging over the bar. Not only this but there have been numerous posters, baseball caps, t shirts, post cards, playing cards, greeting cards and all sorts of other promotional and novelty items depicting these paintings. The originals have been highly prized and coveted by collectors for decades. These paintings have gathered quite a following to them considering they started as nothing more as a cigar box promotion. Now they have brought half a million dollars for two paintings. There is money in poker art too.