Dog lovers, rejoice! The American Kennel Club is giving New York City a museum devoted exclusively to man’s best friend. The Museum of the Dog opened Feb. 8 and offers visitors an in-depth look at dogs in art, as well as a glance at the history of pedigrees.
Originally opened in the lobby of the New York Life building in 1982 and run by the kennel club, the museum displayed its collection of more than 1,700 paintings and porcelain figurines to celebrate and promote the 202 dog breeds recognized by the society. It moved to St. Louis in 1987 and remained there until now, when the club brought it to a three-story complex on the corner of Park Avenue and East 40th Street in Manhattan.
The new location features two floors of dog portraits and a three-story glass display case for the porcelain. There are also several interactive features that connect the paintings to the club’s work in breeding. The most impressive of these is a large, touch-screen table that is a dog database. Tap any breed on the screen, and it explains the dog’s origin and history and lists any portraits the museum has on display. When I clicked on the Airedale terrier, I learned it was originally bred to hunt ducks and rats and that it was a popular breed with United States presidents in the early 20th century. Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge all owned Airedales.
The museum has a motion-activated station at which children can “train” a digital dog, with the commands “sit,” “stay,” and “speak.” A photo booth at the the museum’s entrance matches photos of people’s faces with the breed that most resembles them. The museum is also developing apps that will allow visitors to learn about the different breeds by pointing their phone cameras at the many dog portraits hanging on the gallery walls.
These technology upgrades are sophisticated, but it’s the portraits that make it worth visiting the Museum of the Dog. The paintings, mostly by Englishmen in the Victorian era, tell a visual story of how dogs were elevated from common animals to hunting partners to man’s best friend. Much like prized horses, owners of the best dogs had them painted to show off their pedigree. As dogs moved into homes, they became more than prized objects. Painters such as Maud Earl, Arthur Wardle, and Edwin Megargee make up an oft-forgotten canon of painters who cataloged the humanization of the canine.
Dog portraiture hit its zenith with Earl. He worked in both England and the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, and his work was prized by Queen Victoria and her relatives. The most famous dog picture with a royal pedigree is from 1910 and titled “A Silent Sorrow.” It depicts Caesar, Edward VII’s beloved fox terrier, resting his chin on his master’s chair, which had been vacated by the king’s death. Earl left Edward’s chair an unfinished sketch, fading into the top of the painting, to amplify the sense of the dog’s grief.
The museum has a collection of club trophies, dog collars, and artifacts left behind by famous dogs from history. These include the parachute and jumpsuit worn by Smoky, the Yorkie who leaped into enemy territory with American troops in World War II, and a glass box displaying the skeleton of Belgrave Joe, the Michelangelo’s David of dogs, who was the sire of the modern terrier breed, considered to be one of the most perfect dogs ever bred.
Belgrave Joe is in the museum’s reference library, which includes more than 15,000 volumes with such titles as The Dog Bible, which is a reference guide to different breeds, and Gaelic Names for Celtic Dogs, a niche work focused on breeds of the British Isles.
There are modern works in the museum too, notably a recently acquired portrait of Millie, George H. W. Bush’s English springer spaniel, in front of the White House. Next to it hangs a letter from former First Lady Barbara Bush to the club for the museum’s opening in St. Louis.
“Dogs have enriched our civilization, and woven themselves into our hearts and families through the ages,” she wrote. “Dogs help us with law enforcement, and help the blind to see; some protect us; others entertain us, and they all return the love they are given tenfold. Animals, especially dogs, have a way of bringing out the warmth and humor in most people, and I am so glad they have always been a part of my family.”
High praise for four-legged creatures, but the Museum of the Dog shows they deserve it.
Nic Rowan is a media analyst at the Washington Free Beacon.
