A visual feast of outstanding work by British and American artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, this fascinating account of most of the popular breeds provides an original and penetrating artistic record and traces the evolution of 50 breeds.

Loyal dogs have always been by the side of great artists. In this celebration they are front and center. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which brought us Catnip, now presents masterpieces of dog-centric art. Each is accompanied by prose or poetry from some of the worlds great writers, humorists, and thinkers, including Edith Wharton, Groucho Marx, and William Shakespeare. A painting of puppies wrestling playfully in an American quilt is paired with Charles M. Schulz's cheerful "Happiness is a warm puppy." Other treasures reinforce the intimate bond of man and dog, from a shaggy Newfoundland acting as a cozy seat for a child in a Renoir painting to a winsome dachshund performing tricks in an early-twentieth-century photograph. Frisky and idiosyncratic, this giftable collection is as delightful as its canine subject.

"Written by a specialist in both art and animal husbandry, the book begins with the earliest known representations of the dog, including sculptures and paintings of dramatic vitality. It goes on to examine the various roles the dog has played in both art and society, including its depiction as a symbol of fidelity and romantic love; as a prized possession, vaunting its owner's power and wealth; as a treasured and loyal pet; as a mythological being, mysteriously travelling between the lands of the living and the dead; as a religious image of purity, or dissolution; and as an indispensable working and hunting companion." "The book concludes with an examination of the ways in which modern artists have interpreted the image of the dog, and reaffirms the profound and unbreakable bond between humans and these complex creatures, which ensures that the dog will continue to exert a powerful fascination for artists as they strive to capture the soulful and beguiling character of man's best friend."--BOOK JACKET.

From the Zoroastrian sculpture of a two-hundred-pound mastiff to the portrait of a coiffured lap dog, Dogs in Art presents humanity's best friend like never before. Through a wide range of genres, fashions, and cultures--from Roman mosaics to pop art, video, impressionism, and photography--this book brings together one hundred and fifty breathtaking canine images to tell the story of dogs in art from ancient times to the present. Susie Green considers the artists' often very personal motives behind their works, the vastly different cultural raison d' tres, and the reasons why these sentient, emotional beings are loved and trusted by hundreds of millions of people--including artists like Hogarth, William Wegman, and Lucien Freud. The perfect gift for the many dog lovers around the world, this beautifully illustrated book offers a dynamic new perspective on our relationship with this much cherished animal.

Photographs of over 300 works of art and supporting text celebrate the canine in art and literature, including chapters on sporting dogs, companion dogs, wild dogs, working dogs, dogs at rest, and symbolic dogs.