Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, an instantly recognizable commercial painter who has given the world the series of Dogs Playing Poker, was born in 1844, into a family of abolitionist Quaker farmers and was named after one of the most eloquent orators against slavery, nicknamed (with provisional anthropomorphism) “The Lion of White Hall.” Nicknamed “Cash” by friends and kin, he had no official training whatsoever, but was very active, publishing drawings in papers before he was 20.
The paintings along one of his favorite themes, mastiffs and Saint Bernards engaged in the activities normally attributed to humans, began with a commission in 1903. Well-bred and well-behaved dogs drink alcoholic libations, smoke cigars and pipes, and play five-card draw poker in nine out of sixteen of the paintings. Generally they are pictured as furry masculine types in fur coats or warm suits sitting around a table in a cozy room with the only source of light being a lamp above the table.
These proper members of the well-to-do bourgeoisie seem to be well mannered gentlemen, if not altogether tame, definitely a cultured lot. Think of Sergio Leone’s movie Once Upon a Time in America, the pictures are roughly of the same era. But the focus of the paintings that Coolidge gives us is not the one of greed and violence as in the underground clubs depicted in the movie. Instead, his poker games emerge from the murky criminal underworld into a decent society where the club members play poker, if not entirely for fun, for only a few cents, smoke a little tobacco and tipple just a bit behind their wives backs. Poker was no more a way to make money quickly and dangerously. It was becoming wholesome entertainment for the majority of American men.
As early as 1875, respectable persons attended major night-time poker sessions. At least one monthly, Poker Chips, was dedicated to the game and most periodicals published related articles. At the turn of the century, unified rules for draw-poker were for the first time spread among all poker clubs. Reporters suggested that baseball had ceased to be the national game.
Little by little, the skills at poker and skills at using a weapon were becoming the premier attributes of many a manly man. If a man had the ability to play a good game of poker, he was considered also to be a fine soldier, sheriff, law man of any persuasion and a solid, honest political leader as well. As a matter of fact, in World War I in Europe in 1918, poker was the most enjoyed form of entertainment among the troops and of one Harry Truman. Truman actually greatly enhanced his own skill at draw and stud poker as an artillery officer. Upon the signing of the peace treaty, while the troops were awaiting their transport home orders, Harry T. and his troops whiled away the time playing endless hands of poker. A habit they continued well after arriving at their homeland.
It is the ability to bet large and shrewdly, take big risks, and bluff successfully for profit of course, that is also perceived to be the mark of the man that survives in battle, is willing and able to take on dangerous jobs like law enforcement or to be successful at any type of occupation that requires brains and muscle.
Cash Coolidge was around at a time that gave him every opportunity to observe the sort of person, the clothes, the card games and the milieu in which all of these elements came together in basement clubs that gave rise to the essence of his art. Through his art, which consisted of a vivid imagination and anthropomorphic humor, he created a representation of the life of the bourgeoisie at the time enjoying a game that had been around for more than 200 years.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker and receives Rakeback at Minted Poker from Rakeback Solution.
Tags: art, card games, dogs, Entertainment, gambling, Games, poker
