Calling Houston dog lovers: Check out the MFAH's dog exhibition

Before we begin, let me just say I’m a mega dog lover. I watch the Dog Whisperer, sit with the “boys” and critique Eukanuba Best in Shows, sign up to work with dogs at the HSPCA, and enjoy reading books about dogs like Jon Katz’s latest A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life. So it’s not surprising that the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s (MFAH) canine exhibition would eventually capture my attention.

Long before William Wegman’s photography proclaimed the beauty of Fay Ray, dogs had not only been hailed as man’s best friend but also bore on their furrowed, furry brow the crown of the artist’s best friend. Now Houston celebrates the dog with MFAH’s Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today. The exhibit, which began in October, runs through January 1, 2007. If you’re a dog lover, an artist, or simply someone in need of something to do, add this to your list.

The idea of dogs being such wonderful subjects for artists somehow escaped me. Until, that is, the mid-’90s when I attended the first Private Eye Writers of America conference and joined a group of writers who trekked over to the AKC Museum of the Dog. (An entire museum devoted to dogs? Who knew?) At the time there was talk about a short story anthology with each writer choosing a specific work of art and creating a story. We roamed the halls, chatted about canine personalities, and shared our murderous thoughts spawned by the artfully rendered dogs.

While the halls of the Houston exhibition may not reverberate with ominous barking, canine visions will definitely compete with the annual sugar plums for your attention. Pugs, Spaniels, Greyhounds, Dalmatians…Name your dog. The pampered, the working, the playing, the sleeping, all aspects of dog life are depicted. Yale University Press has issued Best-Show-Dog-Renaissance-Today, the accompanying book that features the exhibition’s works. Buy it ahead of time or pick it up at the museum.

The paintings are sure to suggest snippets of stories. I’m looking forward to viewing Valyer-Coster’s The Favorites, Marie Antoinette’s pampered trio, and Reinagle’s funny Portrait of an Extraordinary Musical Dog. Then there is Calderon’s A Lady of Quality described so eloquently by Scott Rose in the Pampered Puppy:

Brit painter William Frank Calderon came from a Spanish lineage with roots in Villafranca de los Cabelleros, Toledo. His A Lady of Quality is the pi