Click HERE to see enlarged pictures of all of the paintings below.
Last week, we looked at the man named C.M. Coolidge, who over a hundred years ago, gave us a total of nine oil paintings of dogs playing poker. They were originally painted as promotional material for tobacconists, but have evolved into what is today instantly recognizable to any poker player. Even those who don’t play poker know the paintings.
This week, we take a look at six of these individual masterpieces. Each one has an obvious theme, and some have more hidden messages that we’ll discuss as well. Join me in learning all there is to learn about dogs playing poker.
A Bold Bluff One of the most popular, this painting features the notorious Saint Bernard smoking a cigar and holding his cards steady in front of him. Is he making a bold bluff? Hard to tell by this image since you can’t see what he’s holding. Take my word for it, it doesn’t matter. You have to look real closely at this painting to see that he’s holding no more than a pair of Two’s, which isn’t a monster in draw poker, the game being played in these paintings. In front of him is a very tall stack of chips pushed into the center of the pot. The other dogs are all eye-balling our Saint Bernard to determine if he’s got the goods or not.
Waterloo This painting is part two of the painting described above. In this one, we get to see the Saint Bernard lay down his bold bluff to this dismay of the other dogs at the table. Clearly, they all folded because the Saint Bernard is scooping in the pot with his exposed pair of Deuces on the table. Each dog is taking it differently. The hound on the far right is looking to the floor in shock. The shelty is very elevated in his seat, suggesting he’s ‘on his feet’. The bulldog is looking at the cards in disbelief, while the Saint Bernard has as much of a smile as you can paint on a dog’s face.
A Friend in Need One of Coolidge’s most popular, this painting depicts the light-colored bulldog passing an Ace of Clubs to the orange-colored bulldog sitting to his left. The bulldog who’s getting the help from his friend has three cards of his five that can be identified by the single marking on each one…in other words, three Aces and the light-colored bulldog is passing him the fourth. The dog at the far right of the table may even be noticing what’s going on…he appears to be watching the suspicious action. From the HomePoker.com Discussion Forum:
”Coolidge's painting was used in the Second World War to boost the moral of Dutch citizens. The dog with the cigar being Churchill giving America help (on his lefthand side), which goes unnoticed. Russia (the most left dog) tries to attract USA's attention, while Hitler (the dog with the pipe and the "big ears" in front of the clock) watches anxiously.”
Poker Sympathy In the true spirit of friends playing poker, all of the dogs have gathered to one side of the table while the orange-colored bulldog (perhaps as retribution for the last painting) loses to a laughing bulldog at the other side of the table. A closer look sheds some light on what happened. The losing bulldog’s cards are falling off the table as he falls out of his chair, and we can see that he had four Aces. Now, this is not a continuation of the previous painting, because the light-colored bulldog is his opponent and seated across the table. The room they’re playing in does not look the same, and there is one more dog in this painting than in the last. What could beat four Aces? The light-colored bulldog who’s laughing at the other end of the table is holding a straight flush in diamonds. If that’s not a bad enough beat, we can also see that the pot is giant by this point. Clearly, the four Aces gave up a lot of chips to the straight flush.
Pinched With Four Aces Despite the theme of four Aces, this painting is also not to be confused with the previous two. In this painting, the dog police are busting up the game. Pinched? Indeed, the orange-colored bulldog is about to scoop a big pot with his strong four Aces, but not before the police arrive. The dog trying to escape on all fours is a rare one for Coolidge to show a dog actually being a dog. There’s no arguing that this painting is independent of the rest story-wise, as the light fixture is unique, there are only five dog players, and the jar of pens (?) on the table to the left is unique.
Post Mortem One of the most overlooked dog paintings is the one without action at all. In this painting, three of the poker dogs are sitting back enjoying more cigars and some crackers. The deck of cards is neat at the front of the table, and the box of poker chips in front of the sheltie would suggest that the game has ended. Presumably, these are your winning poker dogs each gloating with the other winners.
To C.M. Coolidge! They’re truly works of art when we’re still enjoying them over a hundred years later.
Head to the HomePoker.com Discussion Forum to talk about this article and your own experiences with the popular Coolidge paintings.
Email this to a friend
Coolidge was born in Antwerp, New York in 1844. He had many careers throughout his life, including a banker and shopkeeper, although he was most notable for his painted works. Ironically, very little is known about whether Coolidge had any formal art education in his early life. He was known to sketch his whole life, and may have been almost entirely self-taught before receiving formal art lessons at a friend's advice in New York City. His friend saw his sketching, and suggested he upgrade his skills.
In 1903, Coolidge signed a contract with advertising firm Brown and Bigelow that would lead to the series of paintings of dogs playing poker. Coolidge’s reputation for painting was becoming popular among advertisers, and B&B out of St. Paul, Minnesota, wanted to use Coolidge’s artwork in their promotional materials.
To this day, each of the paintings is admired by poker players and art enthusiasts alike for the capacity of each to tell a story. "A Bold Bluff", for instance, allows us to see the weak hand of the St. Bernard making the very large bet, compared to the faces of the other dogs sizing him up. "A Bold Bluff" actually leads into "Waterloo" to tell the story of a poker hand in two parts. After the bluff in the first painting, we see the St. Bernard winning the pot in "Waterloo", much to the dismay of the dog opposite him at the table. "Pinched with Four Aces" shows all of the dogs sliding their seats away from the shocked dog whose four aces just lost to a straight flush. The dog with the straight flush is making no effort to conceal laughing at the dog with four aces.
Coolidge passed away in 1934 at the age of 89. The self-portrait that Coolidge was commissioned to do for Jefferson Bank is currently on display in Antwerp's library. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Coolidge's work has appeared in many places, particularly on novelty items, clothing, personal checks, etc. Most would agree that the various paintings of Dogs Playing Poker have been integral to Coolidge’s lasting legacy.
