Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today (Hardcover)

by Peter Bowron (Author), Carolyn Rose Rebbert (Author), Robert Rosenblum (Author), William Secord (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Dogs have been featured in works of art in various ways—from primary subjects to supporting characters to props. Best in Show is the most up-to-date, comprehensive survey of the dog as shown in painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography from the end of the sixteenth century to today.

This beautifully produced book features sixty works by such illustrious artists as Francis Bacon, Gustave Courbet, Salvador Dalí, Lucian Freud, Thomas Gainsborough, Edouard Manet, Andy Warhol, William Wegman, Andrew Wyeth, and many more. Four fascinating essays by distinguished scholars discuss the dog in the context of the art of the 16th through the 21st centuries; examine the purebred and how breeds have developed and changed over the years; and outline the results of scientific inquiry over the centuries regarding the nature of dogs.

Best in Show brilliantly illuminates the captivating and intriguing history of the dog in art––offering myriad interpretations and irrefutable reasons for celebrating “the artist’s best friend.”

About the Author

Edgar Peters Bowron is Audrey Jones Beck Curator of European Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Carolyn Rose Rebbert is Curator of Science at the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut. Robert Rosenblum is Henry Ittleson, Jr., Professor of Modern European Art at New York University, and author of The Dog in Art: From Rococo to Post-Modernism. William Secord is a dog-painting historian and author of Dog Painting: The European Breeds and Dog Painting 1840-1940: A Social History of the Dog in Art, among others.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (August 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300115881
• ISBN-13: 978-0300115888
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #632,803 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice blend of "cocktail table" and reference, September 22, 2006

By	Janine Kilty "janine" (Western New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am an artist who paints animals - wildlife and pet portraits. I bought this book in hopes that I would have, in one volume, fine art images of dogs: to learn from, to get inspiration from.

This book did not disappoint me. WHile it is not by any means a scholarly work - in other words, it contains no real information on the methods, motives or analysis of the works depicted. It is very well illustrated and has light context commentary about the works and the artists who produced them. The number of color plates is generous, the range of illustrations is broad, well produced and includes little known as well as famous works, by masters from western and eastern traditions, from pre-renaissance through modern times.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves dogs - and for artists who are looking for a compilation reference.