Anyone can have a dog

In the Palm Beach Daily News, Robert Janjigian chats with author William Secord. “‘The world of dogs is a very small one,’ said author William Secord at the outset of his discussion with moderator Parker Ladd at Friday’s Brazilian Court author breakfast. As the head of the American Kennel Club’s Dog Museum of America in Manhattan during the early 1980s, Secord realized that very little was known about canine portraiture, which became his specialty and prompted him to open a Manhattan gallery devoted to this highly specialized area of art history soon after the museum relocated to St. Louis.’One thing I learned was that you cannot write about dog paintings unless you know dogs,’ said Secord, the author of Dog Painting 1840-1940. Secord has researched hundreds of breeds to become an expert in the field. Interest in dog paintings has grown during the past 20 years, said Secord, noting that horse paintings were popular during the late 1970s. The author-dealer cited the fact that ‘anyone can have a dog,’ as the explanation for dog paintings’ increased value � and ‘most people don’t have horses.'” Read more.