Continuing on with our "Warhol and Dachshunds" series, here's a piece which you probably haven't seen before, at least we haven't. This work is currently on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a part of their Warhol Dogs and Cats exhibit. Excerpt from The Tartan:
The Dogs and Cats series is among Warhol’s lesser-known works. The eight silk-screened painting set features common house cats and dog breeds such as the Great Dane, West Highland Terrier, and Dachshund. The series began in 1976, when art collector Peter Brant commissioned Warhol to paint his Cocker Spaniel named Ginger. Warhol made two paintings of Ginger, as well as numerous drawings. Brant liked these works and encouraged Warhol to do a whole series of cat and dog drawings. When viewed, a juxtaposition of eeriness and vibrant personality comes forth from the depicted pets. This eeriness is likely due to Warhol’s decision to use stuffed animals for his first cat and dog photos. He took this approach because of the difficulty he initially faced when staging the pets. The subsequent paintings Warhol completed were done from photographs of cats and dogs and, given his predisposition to work from photographs as an illustrator, it is easy to understand why the later pets are so vibrant and infused with personality.
The larger photo above looks to our untrained eye to be a different version of this piece, Portrait of Maurice, 1976. This work was a commissioned portrait for Gabrielle Keiller. Warhol worked from Polaroids of Maurice taken in his London home to create this image.
We've gotta be quick and book our plane tickets to Pittsburgh to catch the exhibition "Canis Major: Warhol's Dogs and Cats (and other party animals)" which runs through May 4th at the Andy Warhol Museum. Inspired by Warhol's love of animals, the "Canis Major" exhibit features photographs, paintings, screen prints, drawings and videos of animals, including his pets. Excerpt from thePittsburgh Post-Gazette: Warhol's dachshunds, Amos and Archie, accompanied him almost everywhere he went, and they appear in many photographs, including a 1978 photo from High Times magazine in which writer Truman Capote poses with Warhol, who has Archie tucked under his arm. A TV screen in the "Canis Major" exhibit shows a continuous loop of one of the dachshunds playing with toys and with friends of the artist. Fifteen paintings are mounted on the wall of the "Canis Major" exhibit, including a 1976 painting simply titled "Dog." While it is clearly a dachshund, Warhol paints the dog in blue, mauve and orange, using acrylic and silk screen on linen. Read all about the exhibition at thePittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Famous Dachshund Owner? Pop Culture? Our Hero! Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), better known as Andy Warhol, was an American artist who was a central figure in the movement known as Pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, an avant-garde filmmaker, a record producer, an author, and a public figure known for his presence in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy aristocrats. A controversial figure during his lifetime (his work was often derided by critics as a hoax or "put-on"), Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books and documentary films since his death in 1987. He is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. His dachshunds were 'Amos' and 'Archie.' The above photo of Warhol and Archie was taken in 1973 by photographer Jack Mitchell.
Dachshund (Archie), 1976, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas
Excerpt fromartnet: In the early 1970’s the era of Andy’s cats ends and Andy’s dogs begins. In 1973 Jed Johnson, Andy’s boyfriend, convinced him they should get a dog. Through a friend’s recommendation, Jed decided on a dark brown, shorthaired dachshund puppy. Jed and Andy named him Archie. It was definitely the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Andy and Jed adored Archie. Andy took Archie to his studio, to art openings, and Ballato’s Restaurant on Houston Street. The wife of the owner, John Ballato, had a toy poodle named Muffy and Andy was encouraged to bring Archie so he could be Muffy’s companion. I do not remember the dogs ever playing together because Archie was always on Andy’s lap, eating bits of food that he was handed. Archie was carefully hidden under Andy’s napkin just case a restaurant health inspector would happen to come by. John’s restaurant was very exclusive and he only allowed people he knew and liked to sit at one of his tables for lunch or dinner. It was a hangout for the emerging art world, those who were settling into New York City’s SoHo area in the early 1970’s. Andy was so attached to Archie that he would not travel to London because he could not bare leaving Archie at home or in quarantine for six months. Archie became Andy’s alter ego. Andy would hold Archie when being photographed by the press and would deflect questions to him that he did not want to answer. The artist Jamie Wyeth did a portrait of Andy with Archie being held under Andy’s arm looking like the sophisticated and regal dog that he was. Two or three years after getting Archie, Andy and Jed got a second dachshund, this time a light brown, shorthaired puppy they named Amos. Unlike Archie who enjoyed the company of people and was very social, Amos was more like a regular dog. Archie and Amos kept each other entertained in Andy’s townhouse barking and chasing each other. Archie’s days of going out on the town with Andy ended. During his last years, Warhol lived alone in a five-storey building with his two miniature dachshunds, surrounded by antiques, art and about 175 cookie jars.
Portrait of Maurice, 1976, commissioned portrait for Gabrielle Keiller, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas. To create this screenprinted image, he worked from Polaroids of Maurice, taken at Keiller's London home.
Andy Warhol and Archie sit for a press photo in New York.
Andy Warhol, Archie, and friends at Brooks Brothers, New York, 1975
Continuing on with the Andy Warhol Dachshund association, it's Nico. Who? Nico (born Christa Päffgen, 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988) was a German singer, composer, fashion model, actress, and Dachshundist Warhol Superstar. She is known for both her vocal collaboration on The Velvet Underground's debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and her work as a solo artist from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. She also had roles in several films, including a cameo in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls (1966), as herself. She was related to Hermann Päffgen, who founded the Päffgen brewery in 1883 in Cologne. She died in July 1988, as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycling accident. Source.
Thanks to Susan Sears for sending us a link to the above recently unearthed photo which begs the question: Did Nico have her own Dachshunds? Not from what we can tell. This photo seems to originate from recently available Mark Shaw photos offered for sale at Svenska Möbler. They elude that the Dachshunds belonged to Parisian interior designer Henry Samuel:
"Nico With Dachshunds"- Mark Shaw Editioned Fashion Photo, France, 1960's
Original Limited Edition Mark Shaw fashion photograph. This is from a never published series taken by Shaw for LIFE magazine. Pictured here is Nico who went on to be the lead chanteuse of "The Velvet Underground" as a young model in Paris. She is posing with a pair of dachshunds in the apartment of legendary Parisian interior designer Henry Samuel. These prints are archivally prepared and stamped and numbered at the Mark Shaw Photographic Archives. Please call us in Los Angeles for details.
Admittedly, we aren't the hugest fans of Nico's voice, but the iconic album The Velvet Underground & Nico wouldn't have been as great without her presence.
Iris Love with her dachshunds, Euphrosyne and Diomedes.
Thanks so much to Elizabeth Romaine for writing in that Iris Love, our favorite (and only?) Grand Dachshund Socialite, is featured in a revealing article in The New York Times that any good Dachshundist will not want to miss. Elizabeth writes:
Dear Joey and Rowdy,
Just wanted to let you know that in today's NY Times - Rowdy's b-day - that there's a lovely article about Iris Love. I would never have known about this lovely lady if not for your terrific blog and now I know who took in Mrs. Astor's doxies. Thanks to you as well.
I'm from Westchester County originally, and Mrs. A is one of my heroes. And Ms. Love now is as well. Whatever could be the connection? :)
Gigi Marie Louise sends her best. The Chows remain aloof as always.
SOME dog lovers live for their dogs and hardly give people the time of day. Others are more social. And then there is Iris Love, the New York socialite whose Pekingese won the Best in Show award this year at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
A fun-loving and gracious archaeologist, Ms. Love, now 78, has been out-and-about in New York for at least six decades, long enough that [Dachshund Lover] Andy Warhol mentioned her in his diaries nine times.
“I’m a very social person,” Ms. Love said on a recent Friday, while two of her 36 champion dachshunds, Euphrosyne and Diomedes, chewed on bones at a dog-loving friend’s Upper East Side apartment. “And I take pleasure in meeting all kinds of creative people.”
Of course when you have Liz Smith in your life — as a friend, romantic partner (“for 15 years,” Ms. Love said) and, these days, roommate — meeting all kinds of people is relatively easy.
Proving once again that weekends are for Wiener Dogs, here's a Dachshund News Roundup on a surprisingly cool blustery fall day, September 28, 2009 (your Long and Short of it All host 'Joey' is not happy about the weather shift!). Kicking things off, check out the handsome red smooth piebald above! His name is 'Prince Rusty,' and he's having a great time running around with his human, Taylor Wood, on Saturday at Dog Fest 2009 in Springfield, Missouri. Over 1,000 humans and 500 dogs attended the event. Read all about it the News-Leader.
Heading east to Cape Cod, it was the second annual Doxie Days on Saturday in Dennis, Massachusetts. Meet the organizers of the event, black and tan longhair 'Isabella' and her human Roseanne Smith. There was a Blessing of the Dachshunds, vendors, rescue organizations...lots of Dachshund Love on the beach! Don't miss all the photos at CapeCodPets. And with an intro like this, you know the write-up is good:
What do William Randolph Hearst, E.B. White, Jack Ruby, Andy Warhol, Queen Victoria, Donald Rumsfeld and Pablo Picasso have in common? Surprise! They were all owners of dachshunds. The popularity of this breed, which is ranked seventh in registrations by the American Kennel Club, crosses all cultural stratas.
Heading just ever-so-slightly west of the Cape, it was the Third annual Dachshund Day held in Westport, Massachusetts, on Saturday. Over 40 Dachshunds attended the event, which included a parade, raffle, social time, and agility demonstrations! Read all about it and see lots of pics at the Herald News.
Back in the Midwest, red smooth 'Bendi Sue' ran for the glory of it all on Saturday at the National Dachshund Races in Findlay, Ohio. This huge 2-day event featured a parade and Dachshunds chauffeured in stretch limos! We're sure that more pics will be posted soon on the official site, but this pic is from The Courier.
And back to Missouri, participants in the Dachshund Derby get off to a running start Saturday at the Old Munichberg Association Oktoberfest celebration in Jefferson City. Read more about the event at the News Tribune.
And finally, heading south to sweet warm Florida, Dachshund Rescue of South Florida held A Dog's Day In Venice Yappy Hour in Pembroke Pines. Looks like everyone had a great time! We're guessing that the $2 wine or beer and $5 martinis were a hit!
The Meaning of Life
from Brutal Like All Olympic Games, by Don Burness
The painter Bonnard knew
Picasso and Andy Warhol knew
Henry James knew
Dorothy Parker knew
P.G. Wodehouse knew
E.B. White knew
Queen Victoria surely knew
And I know
and I taught my students
that the meaning of life
is
the dachshund!
Source:Class Bias in Higher Education
Above vintage photo origin unknown, but probably 1940's or earlier based on the nice collar style.
