Winter 2005 - Dogs in Whimsy

While canines have been immortalized for centuries in art and literature celebrating man's best friend as an accomplished hunter, a faithful protector, a guardian, and a loyal keeper of the flocks, there is another side to the dog equally beloved, and, perhaps in some ways, even more cherished. The companion pet has become a much-loved fixture in mainstream America.

A departure from the traditional role of canines as hunters and guardians, the Museum's Dogs in Whimsy exhibition presented in the Special Exhibit Gallery beginning March 13 offers a lighthearted look at the dog and explores the humorous side of the human/canine relationship.

Dog whimsy can be as understated as the cozy snuggle of two little pups or as straightforward as cartoons, comics, and funny film characters. Perhaps the most widely known cartoon character with unequalled, universal appeal was Carl Schulz's creation of the lovable beagle, Snoopy, of the popular comic strip Peanuts! The Museum is fortunate to own an original storyboard of Snoopy attempting a self-portrait photo with his familiar group of little feathered friends. Judson L. Streicher donated the comic strip storyboard that is signed and dated September 23, 1990. The Museum also owns a vintage plastic Snoopy figure dressed in a bomber jacket and pilot's glasses, a 1960s Flying Ace Snoopy bank, and a commemorative ceramic Snoopy plate titled, 40 Years of Happiness.

The collectible figurine of the animated film character, Lady, from the Disney animated film, Lady and the Tramp, released in 1962, depicts a charming little Cocker Spaniel with large, adoring eyes. The well-known Disney film was based on a short story by Ward Greene entitled Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog. Lady and the Tramp was the first Disney animated feature filmed in Cinemascope.

Although Disney may have been a significant force in modern animation, giving human characteristics to animals has been in use for ages. Anthropomorphism was a popular trend in the Victorian age with whimsical renditions of dogs appearing in portrait paintings, holiday greeting cards, children's storybooks, fairy tales, and poems. The Museum's holdings of art include two charming oils on canvas of dogs depicted with human characteristics. Bob, a long-haired terrier smoking a pipe, was painted by the English artist George Earl in 1871, and Horatio H. Couldery's painting, The President, depicts a Newfoundland looking quite studious at his writing desk with reading glasses and a stack of bills to be paid. George Earl, the father of the dog artist Maud Earl, is best known for his work as a sporting dog painter and for his 1870s series of portrait head studies titled, Champion Dogs of England. Couldery was an equally accomplished animal painter known for his attention to detail. Both artists were members of the Royal Academy.

The superb Francois Bernard painting of toy dogs and a bumblebee is most likely the Museum's quintessential whimsical painting. Reflecting a Parisian attitude, this nineteenth century pet portrait, The Bumblebee, depicts a group of five pampered canines sitting on a velvet settee. A bumblebee has caught the attention of the Poodle and the two terriers while the Cavaliers appear to care less about the intrusion of a little insect on the wall. Each dog's pose offers the viewer a charming look at the humorous side of canines. The nonchalant attitude of the Cavaliers is quite subtle in its humor. The Poodle and the terriers, on the other hand, are more obvious in their reactions.

Dog whimsy in statues and figurines varies widely from exceptional porcelains such as the exquisite Royal Heidelberg porcelain of a Dachshund resting its head on a pillow to less expensive wares produced by manufacturers such as the Spaulding China Company. Irving Miller and Morris Feinberg owned the Spaulding China Company located in Sebring, Ohio, which they originally purchased to produce clock cases for clock parts that were manufactured in Connecticut. In 1941, the demands of the war effort made brass, an essential component of clocks, unavailable to private industry, and it was apparent that Miller and Feinberg would have to shift the emphasis of their business from clocks to china artware and giftware pottery. This was the beginning of the Royal Copley, Royal Windsor, and Spaulding lines produced by the Spaulding China Company. Although these ceramic figurines and planters are considered far less refined than the sophisticated porcelains of high quality manufacturers such as Meissen, Sevres, Rosenthal, Royal Doulton, or Royal Copenhagen, to name a few, they were nonetheless charming, affordable, and appealed to a wide audience. The Museum's Dogs in Whimsy exhibit includes several figural planters attributed to Royal Copley.

Two Scottish Terrier black glazed planters, dating from the 1930s, possibly the early 1940s, have no identifying marks but are nonetheless considered a real find by collectors. The hand-painted red and white details on these two pieces have not been lost through time, making them somewhat valuable. Figural planters were all the rage in the middle 1900s and, when the famous Scottish Terrier Fala took up residence in the White House, Scottish Terrier items became even more popular.

Beginning around the 1920s and lasting through the 1940s all things Scottie was the design of choice for manufacturers, using the charming Scottish Terrier silhouette in everything from decorative drinking glasses to whimsical fabrics decorated with the Scottie dog. The popularity of the breed, especially in the 1940s, was due in part to the notoriety of President Franklin Roosevelt's famous canine companion who rode in the car with the President on his 1941 inauguration. Fala accompanied President Roosevelt on his travels meeting various dignitaries and heads of state from around the world. However, the well-known Morgan Dennis ads for Black and White Scotch whiskey as well as the Texaco Oil promos showing an alert Scottie listening to a smooth running car fueled with Texaco gas actually started the Scottie craze well before Fala made an appearance in the public eye.

Numerous short stories and storybooks have been written about dogs, including Fala. The Museum's Dogs in Whimsy exhibition does not attempt to include them all. However, the recent gift donation of books to the Hope A. Levy Memorial Library by Gilbert S. Kahn includes several children's stories on the subject of dog whimsy.

Two of the books from the Kahn donation represent a series of stories about the adventures of a precocious Bulldog puppy named Blobbs, written and illustrated by G. Vernon Stokes and B. Parker. In Blobbs at the Fair, Blobbs meets up with a circus dog, Toby, who shows him all the fascinating and interesting things found at a fair.

In Blobbs at the Seaside, curious Blobbs learns the hard way about getting too near an unfriendly lobster who pinches him by the tail. Junk, The Puppy, written and illustrated by G. Vernon Stokes and Cynthia Harnett, is about a clever Sealyham Terrier, one of four pups, beloved by Robin and Susan whose father wants to give Junk away. Father names the puppy Junk because he finds him to be the ugly pup of the litter. But Robin and Susan see only the loving qualities of this little dog, who in the end saves the day.

Banjo, The Puppy, also written and illustrated by G. Vernon Stokes and Cynthia Harnett, is about a little terrier puppy that finds his way into the heart of his caretaker, Mrs. Truelove. She eventually comes to love the little dog after he saves, Muffin, Mrs. Truelove's cat from death and danger.

Pete, a story about an Airedale puppy, by Tom Robinson and published in 1941, is beautifully illustrated by Morgan Dennis. The former four books were gift donations made by Gilbert S. Kahn. Pete is a non-accessioned purchase for the Museum's library. The Museum's extensive collection of children's stories and poems, breed books, and books on dog art and artists are available to visitors of all ages during Museum hours.

Dogs in Whimsy continues in the Special Exhibit Gallery through May 28.