National Dog Day Art Appreciation (II)

Several more examples of Coco T. Dog, the well-known photographer, in a few artistic guises.

1. ‘Winston Churchill” Graham Sutherland’s famous portrait of the great statesman was controversial at its first unveiling. Nothing, though, can be contentious about Coco T. Dog as the great Winnie, minus cigar and brandy. (True, this little rescue Spaniel is not exactly a British Bulldog, but give it a little poetic license, okay?)

2. “The Spanish Infanta” An anonymous picture (Velasquez??) of a young Spanish prince at the court of 16th Century Madrid. In the eyes is a look of eternal happiness and optimism, though as we now know, the Spanish Infanta later was cut down by the Saracens in the “Dog’s Crusade” to the Holy Land.

3. “The Crucifixion of Jesus” (Detail) by Peter Paul Rubens. The enormous fresco of Jesus on the Cross is displayed on the altar in New York’s Church of Our Lady of Avenue B. Shown here is Mary Magdalene, gazing with passion, love and longing at the figure of her Savior. (Recently scholars discovered that “Mary Magdalene” was actually gazing with passion at a banana, but who can blame him?)

4. “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog” The late Richard Avedon photographed Coco T. Dog, using the title of Dylan Thomas’s book of autobiographical stories. The look is naive, unblemished (save for some eye-snot) and idealized youth.

5. “Two People on a Downtown New York Subway”: Edward Hopper wouldn’t have recognized Coco. But he might have had a special affection for my dog Sam. A.k.a. Sam T. Dog, seen sitting on a New York Subway with Mr. Hopper’s newest model.

Happy National Dog Day!!!!!!