Signed Rodrigue Blue Dogs on Cow Printers' Proof - 1999

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Fine Ethnographic / Asian / Ancient Art

By Artemis Gallery

May 10, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-05-10 10:00:00 2018-05-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Ethnographic / Asian / Ancient Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-ethnographic-asian-ancient-art-3213
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• Lot Description
  George Rodrigue (American, 1944-2013), Blue Dogs On Blue Cow ( also called Walkin Across Texas White), silkscreen in colors, a Printers Proof 2/10, signed by the artist in silver on the lower left, "PP 2/10" also handwritten in silver on the lower right, 1999. Rodrigue is best known for the Blue Dog series featuring an unforgettable pup of vibrant blue hues, modeled on the artist's deceased dog named Tiffany and also inspired by the Loup Garou legend. In this piece, Blue Dog's visage is repeated across the body of the blue cow. The cow motif was inspired by an event that occurred in 1999, when Neiman Marcus on Michigan Avenue commissioned Rodrigue to create three fiberglass cows for the Chicago Cow Parade. Size: image measures 33.125" W x 20.125" H (84.1 cm x 51.1 cm); sheet measures 35.125" W x 22.125" H (89.2 cm x 56.2 cm)
  
  The ghostly blue-hued spaniel/terrier is usually depicted with a white nose and yellow eyes as we see in this example. In 1998, Rodrigue told the New York Times that, "The yellow eyes are really the soul of the dog. He has this piercing stare. People say the dog keeps talking to them with the eyes, always saying something different." Rodrigue continued, "People who have seen a Blue Dog painting always remember it. They are really about life, about mankind searching for answers. The dog never changes position. He just stares at you. And you’re looking at him, looking for some answers, 'Why are we here?,' and he’s just looking back at you, wondering the same. The dog doesn’t know. You can see this longing in his eyes, this longing for love, answers." In addition, the Blue Dog imagery also played a role in coining the term Blue Dog Democrat, which generally refers to a conservative member of the Democratic Party.
  
  George Rodrigue was a Cajun artist who grew up in Louisiana. He studied art at the University of Southwest Louisiana (now called the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in the mid-1960s and attended the Art Center College of Design (then in Los Angeles; now in Pasadena) from 1965 to 1967. In the late 1960s, a young Rodrigue began painting picturesque landscapes of lush Arcadia in the French Louisiana bayou with its beautiful moss covered oak trees; however, his Blue Dog paintings based on the legend of a ghost dog known as loup-garou were what made him famous. This came about in 1984, when Rodrigue was commissioned to do artwork for a series of Cajun ghost stories. His model, his own dog named Tiffany (then deceased), was actually a black and white dog, but she became blue with yellow eyes in the artist's imagination. In addition, she sometimes was depicted as a male rather than a female dog. The Blue Dog became immensely popular in 1992 when Absolut Vodka honored Rodrigue as an Absolut Vodka artist, joining the ranks of Pop artist Andy Warhol and glass artist Hans Godo Frabel. Interestingly, Rodrigue also created art that honored his Cajun culture in works such as "The Aioli Dinner" (1971) in which he presents traditional Cajun gatherings on lush plantation lawns as well as his book entitled, "The Cajuns of George Rodrigue" (1976).
  
  According to Rodrigue's published New York Times obituary, "Mr. Rodrigue boasted that it was not uncommon for his Blue Dog paintings to sell for $25,000. Some were rumored to have sold for 10 times that. He painted Blue Dogs with presidents, with naked women in faux French scenes, on the lawn with his Aioli dining club party, inside a soup can, in ads for Absolut Vodka and next to Marilyn Monroe (returning jabs, perhaps, at those who dismissed him as a Pop Art opportunist). Critics were not always impressed, but he said he did not care."
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #133373

  Condition

  Minute creases to a few corners/edges of the margin that do not interfere with the image. Overall excellent. Hand signed by the artist in silver. "PP" (printers proof) written in silver as well.
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