CASSIUS MARCELLUS COOLIDGE

Dogs playing poker. That’s why painter Cassius Marcellus Coolidge is famous. He also went by “Cash” or “Kash” and would sign his work with the latter spelling. The novelty nature of his work has landed him a spot in a more comic area of art history. Born in New York to Quaker farmers, Coolidge was self-taught, having had little formal art training. His art career began in one of his first jobs as a cartoonist for a local newspaper. He spent most of his professional life working for an advertising firm called Brown & Bigelow. In 2016, a pair of his original paintings sold for $590,400 when its sellers expected it to sell for a lot less.