Through January 5, 2025 the Flint Institute of Arts (FIA) will showcase Pick of the Litter: Cats & Dogs in Art, a collection celebrating our beloved four-legged companions. With over 60% of Americans owning a pet, it’s clear that animals have long made a profound impact on human lives. Across cultures and eras, cats and dogs have been portrayed as family members, hunters and symbols of status representing wealth, power, loyalty and companionship. This exhibition explores humanity’s enduring devotion to and connection with these familiar pets, featuring paintings, sculptures and works on paper depicting cats and dogs from ancient Mexico and China to modern-day America.
My City asked FIA Associate Curator, Rachael Holstege, to tell us more about this unique exhibition.
Fritz Von Uhde, American, 1848-1911. The Performing Dogs, 1880. Oil on canvas. 59 × 89 ½ in. Museum purchase with funds donated by Mr. William S. White 2011.325
What inspired the idea for this exhibition, and how did the theme of cats and dogs in art come about?
A few years ago, a board member pointed out that the FIA had a lot of artworks that feature animals in them and how that would make an interesting exhibition. While working on that idea, I realized that many of the works feature domesticated cats and dogs. Having already done an exhibition called Walk on the Wild Side: Animals in Art, I decided to go in that direction. I wanted the exhibition to be fun, family friendly, and have something for everyone.
How did you go about selecting the specific artworks?
I started by looking through our database of over 9,000 objects. From there, I chose every one that had cats and dogs in them and looked for common themes, styles, mediums. I chose the artworks (63) that I did because they fit the two main themes I found: cat and dog as symbolism and as artists’ muse.
Stone Roberts, American, born 1951. Portrait of a Marriage, 1988. Oil on canvas. 47 × 35 in. Museum purchase, 1995.11
What pieces do you think best capture the emotional bond between humans and their pets?
Joseph Raffael’s Le Printemps I is a great example of the cat and human relationship. In the watercolor painting, Raffael’s wife sleeps while their white cat lays on her. If you have a cat, it is an all too familiar scene.
For dogs, David Miretsky’s American Dream #1 is an example of how in American society dogs are not only seen as a piece of the “American Dream” but as part of the family, just like the children.
Joseph Raffael, American, 1933-2021. Le Printemps I, 1988. Watercolor on paper. 61 x 44 ¾ in. Collection of the Flint Institute of Arts. Museum purchase, 1989.71
Is there a piece that resonates with you personally?
One that resonates with me the most is Marthe Orant’s The Curtains. It features a black cat resting on a Parisian terrace. As an owner of cats, and specifically a black cat, I have seen this exact scene at my home. It reinforces the idea that even decades and cultures apart from these artists, we all have the common thread of love for our furry companions.
