About this catalog.
Famous Dog Paintings is a working catalog of the most consequential paintings of dogs in Western art. Editorial, scholarly in voice, and openly part of the Pet Pic Portraits library.
Mission.
This site catalogues paintings, not memes, not engravings after, not anonymous prints. The thirty entries here are works whose primary subject is — or whose composition turns on — a dog, by identified European or American painters working between the early Northern Renaissance and the late Edwardian and post-Impressionist studios.
The catalog has two purposes. First, to serve the reader who arrived from a search engine looking for that painting they half-remember of the bloodhound at the door, or the small spaniel on a red cushion. Second, to point that reader, where possible, to a good reproduction.
Beyond that the catalog has no commercial ambition of its own; the reproductions we link to are affiliate-supported, and a sister project at Pet Pic Portraits provides the option of commissioning a custom painting of a reader's own dog when no antique reproduction will do.
Methodology.
- i.
Painting, not print
Entries are oil, tempera or comparable studio paintings. Engravings and lithographs after a painting can be linked under reproductions, but do not enter the catalog as separate works.
- ii.
Identified painter
A documented attribution to a named artist. Workshop and "circle of" works are noted as such; anonymous works are excluded.
- iii.
Pre-1929
All works are in the United States public domain. The catalog window closes at 1929; later painters belong to a future volume.
- iv.
Dog meaningfully present
The dog must either be the principal subject or carry structural weight in the composition. Decorative dogs at the picture's edge are not enough.
- v.
Editorial note
Every entry is given a short commentary placing the work in its painter's career and the period's conventions. Where art-historical consensus exists we cite it; where it does not, we say so.
- vi.
Reproductions, where they exist
If a good reproduction is available we link to it under the entry. If not we say so plainly. We do not invent retailers; we do not paper over scarcity.
The curator.
The catalog is edited by Mercy Marquez, an editorial reviewer for Pet Pic Portraits whose day-to-day work involves looking, slowly, at a great many paintings of dogs. The selection here is Mercy's; the commentary is her drafting; the inclusions, exclusions and apologies are hers.
Reader corrections — wrong attributions, wrong dates, omissions of works that ought to be in this catalog — are welcome at hello@petpicportraits.com.
Affiliate disclosure.
Famous Dog Paintings participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Etsy via Awin, AllPosters, 1stDibs and other affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn from qualifying purchases.
When you click a "where to buy" link on this site and complete a purchase at the destination retailer, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. We do not accept payment for editorial inclusion in the catalog; selection of paintings is curatorial. We choose retailers we would order from ourselves.
For full disclosure language and contact information for compliance questions, write hello@petpicportraits.com.
Contact.
Editorial · corrections · suggestions: hello@petpicportraits.com
Sister project: Pet Pic Portraits — commission a custom portrait of your dog