Sitting up with a Sick Friend 1903

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge made this painting of dogs in a drawing room, sitting around a card table. It’s a staged scene, where the real subject is the relationship between these canine characters. I can imagine Coolidge working late into the night in his studio. He probably started with a careful drawing, mapping out the placement of each figure and the folds of their clothing. He might have used a limited palette of warm reds, browns, and creams, applied in thin, even layers. The scene is lit with a warm, inviting glow, and the colors are rich and saturated. The brushstrokes are smooth and controlled, creating a sense of realism. The dogs are expressive, with their droopy eyes, wrinkled brows, and lolling tongues. One of them’s feeling pretty bad, poor thing. Coolidge is having a little fun with this painting, isn’t he? He’s showing us that painting is about making a connection between two disparate things and bringing them together. It’s the art of noticing that the whole world is full of possible subject matter.