A Dog's Guide to Art

By Joy Fitzsimmons

A light-hearted look at art through canine eyes.

Join dachshunds Ned and Henry for an energetic romp through the world of art, encountering famous paintings and sculptures from a four-legged perspective.

Watch them lead their gang of hounds – including schnauzers, jack russells, greyhounds, border terriers and labradors – on an eventful trip through the gallery, taking in modernist masterpieces and much-loved Old Masters. On their way they encounter Whistler’s Mother, Picasso’s The Dream, Matisse’s The Fall of Icarus, Magritte’s Lab and a Dachshund Pollock – all culminating in a doggy version of Campbell’s Soup, Warhol’s Squirrel Soup for dogs!

Illustrator Joy FitzSimmons shows us beloved works of art playfully re-imagined by man’s best friend. From Rousseau to Riley, Hokusai to Hockney, this canine homage takes us across the globe from Tate to the Prado to MoMA, to the British Museum and beyond.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Nov 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781911622659

Joy Fitzsimmons

After studying Illustration & Graphics at Liverpool Art School in the early 1970s, Joy Fitzsimmons came to London and followed a freelance career in publishing working as a book designer and illustrator for 25 years. Since gaining two Dachshunds, she formed London Pooch, a design company producing cards, prints and gifts. Joy's designs have been bought by the British museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Baltic Mill, Fortnum & Mason and Liberty.

Book preview

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INTRODUCTION

For centuries the dog has been a close companion to poets, musicians, writers and artists. Faithful and unjudgemental, they have offered love and inspiration to their owners at times when they might be lost in the creative wilderness.

Many painters have included their favourite hounds in their work – Frida Kahlo, David Hockney, Pierre Bonnard, to name just a few. William Hogarth famously depicted himself with his pug. I try not to be biased but as with styles of art, we each have our breed of choice. To me the dachshund is a design classic: quaint but stylish, loving but enormously willful. The Spitfire of the canine world. But I love all dogs – they