1894-Today

In his paintings depicting dogs as humans, Cassius “Kash” Marcellus Coolidge (1844-1934) brilliantly captured the nuances of poker playing and gambling. The dogs’ expressions are spot on and the details, comedic. Perhaps Coolidge himself had some experience in that world.

Along with Poker Game (above), here are the paintings, all oils on canvas, created between 1894 and 1910:

In A Bold Bluff, originally titled Judge St. Bernard Stands Pat on Nothing, it appears as if Judge St. Bernard has bluffed his way through the game with a weak hand and, with only one opponent left, all eyes are on Judge, eager to see his next move or his hand.

Waterloo continues the story, with Judge St. Bernard having won the game and the big pot, his fellow players shocked at his hand and how he’d bluffed them.

Looks Like Four of a Kind, also called A Friend in Need, shows a group of buddies playing poker at 1:10 a.m. Mr. Bulldog is about to cheat by slyly giving a card to his compatriot on his left. Mr. Dog on Mr. Bulldog’s right witnesses the pass. (Note how Mr. Collie has his legs crossed!)

In His Station and Four Aces, three dogs are playing poker while traveling on a train, and a few others, the attendant included, are watching. Mr. Dog seated on the left has a rare hand (four aces) but before he can play it, the train arrives at his stop, and he’s grumbling about it.

Pinched with Four Aces depicts a police raid on an in-progress, illegal poker game. Mr. Collie No. 1 starts to flee, knocking over his liquor glass and sending his chips flying in the process. Mr. Collie No. 2 looks angrily at the cops for the intrusion whereas the other players just seem surprised by it. Mr. Bulldog has four aces, but his hand will go to waste.

In Poker Sympathy, Mr. Bulldog hasn’t won anything all night and looks to be saying, “I freakin’ give up!” The other players express their sympathy except for Mr. Pitbull, who seems to be laughing at the repeat loser’s misfortune.

In Post Mortem, at about 1:23 a.m., three players are enjoying a snack while kibbitzing and discussing and analyzing the games just played that night.  

Sitting Up With a Friend shows a group of guys keeping their ailing pal company. Some are trying to entertain him, at least one other is playing cards with him, and a third and fourth are passing the time reading.

Stranger in Camp depicts a mining camp, in which two card-playing men are unhappy with an unknown dude who wandered over to join them. One seems to be sizing him up, the other looks to be yelling at him. Meanwhile, the newcomer looks a tad frightened.

Unwarranted Dissing Of The Artist

The art community of Coolidge’s time didn’t give the New York-born any respect, as if they believed he and his works were inferior, products for the lower classes. Ironically, it’s those very elitists whom Coolidge seems to mock in his paintings of anthropomorphized dogs, wearing suits, ties and pricey accessories, smoking pipes and cigars, drinking expensive liquor and gambling away heaps of money.

Given that Coolidge’s images are still being reproduced and hold iconic status today, more than 100 years after their creation, and given two of the original paintings sold at auction in 2005 for $590,400 (about $829,000 today), Coolidge, god rest his soul, (deservedly) is having the last laugh. Not bad for someone without any formal training in the arts.

An older and a younger Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Which one is your favorite painting? 

Here’s one of Roger Price’s Droodles, funny drawings of everyday objects, called “Sick With the Measles.“

Droodle, The Desert Sun, May 18, 1957

The accompanying anecdote read:

“When my landlady Mrs. Goonsgarten saw this Droodle, she made me sign a statement saying that I never again would mention the subject of dice or gambling in her boarding house. I don’t blame her for feeling that way after what happened last month.

She rented her basement apartment to two men, Dr. Slick and Dr. Slade, who claimed to be bone specialists but later turned out to be operators of a floating crap game.

At first Mrs. G. didn’t suspect anything, but when 30 or 40 ‘patients’ would arrive at midnight and stay for ‘treatments’ until 5:00 in the morning, she smelled a rat. But when she heard Doctors Slick and Slade diagnosing their ailments, she called the cops.

Even Mrs. Goonsgarten knows there aren’t any diseases like box cars, snake eyes and eighter from Decatur.”

1931

The Big Baccarat Table in Nice (France) was sketched by cartoonist, Pierre de Régnier, aka Tigre (1898-1943), and ran in newspapers with this description:

“From left to right: Mme. Ephrussi, the French multimillionaire widow who lives at the gaming tables; Andre Citroen, the rich automobile manufacturer, whose fortune represents motor cars; Yves Mirande, the famous playwright whose wealth comes from the plays he writes, such as The Man in Evening Clothes, Ta Bouche, One Kiss. Next to Mirande is the Aga Khan, ‘spiritual leader’ of the Indian Mohammedans, whose fortune is represented by elephants and jewels; then a prosperous Paris man-dressmaker, with his different gowns.

Behind are Erskine Gwynne, Henri Letellier, with his Paris Journal, and Jefferson Davis Cohn, with some of his Pullman cars. On the middle of the table a banco is ready. There is a champagne bottle, a Citroen car, the Chasseur de Chez Maxime, an elephant belonging to Aga Khan and the manikins.”

The heyday of the Monte Carlo casino resort in Monaco was The Roaring Twenties, but that was due in large part to the solid foundation laid by François Blanc decades earlier, who stepped in after its seven initial, turbulent years.

The casino actually began in 1856 as two different gambling houses that later were merged into one. Various owners and cash flow problems plagued the enterprise until Blanc, in 1863, acquired the exclusive right to offer games of chance in Monaco for the next half-century. He’d successfully run a casino in Bad Homburg, Germany for more than 20 years.

Blanc’s successful vision for Monte Carlo was to offer an array of sought-after amenities, to be enjoyed all in one facility. 

“The Monte Carlo casino-resort had emerged as the world’s gambling playground of choice — the only place for hundreds of miles to play legally at cards, dice and wheels. After people lost enough money, they came for glamour and luxury, gambling was secondary,” wrote Mark Braude in Making Monte Carlo: A History of Speculation and Spectacle.

When Blanc died in 1877, his secretary, Count Antoine Nicolas Bertora, ran the gambling for the next 17 years.  Subsequently, Blanc’s daughter, Camille Blanc, assumed control until she fell ill.

By 1922, however, the casino desperately needed another visionary. It was failing in the wake of World War I due to inflation, austerity measures, restricted travel and an influenza pandemic.

Enter Rene Leon. Similar to Blanc, Leon reinvented Monte Carlo by offering amenities and events that catered to the whims and desires of the period’s trendsetters, such as F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Thus, according to Braude, the casino experienced “its Jazz Age heyday as the infamous playground of the rich.”

For a glimpse inside this legendary Monaco gambling house, here are 3 artistic portrayals, presented in order of creation:

The Casino at Monte Carlo / Rien ne va plus! (Nothing goes wrong!), 1890 (oil on canvas)

French painter, Jean-Georges Béraud, created this oeuvre at age 45. He’s renowned for his numerous paintings depicting life in Paris and the nightlife of high society during the Belle Époque.

At the Roulette Table in Monte Carlo, 1892 (oil on canvas)

Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch, painted this piece at age 29 after having spent much time playing and becoming obsessed with roulette in Monte Carlo. “Once you’ve penetrated the enchanted castle of Monte Carlo you’re already bewitched — and you’ll return — you have to,” he noted in his journal (Making Monte Carlo, April 2016).

Gamblers in the Casino at Monte-Carlo, 1910 (color lithograph)

French artist, Georges Goursat, known as Sem, also famous during the Belle Époque, is known for his caricatures, many of prominent French socialites. He crafted this piece at age 47.

Popular Subject

Over the years, the Monte Carlo, inside and out, inspired various types of art. Here are the links to 4 more portrayals:

1) Sketch of Gambling at the Monte Carlo Casino, 1920s, by Wynn

2) Dream of Monte Carlo, 1930, by Max Beckmann

3) Gambling in Monte Carlo, On the French, 1934, by Everett

4) Casino at Monte Carlo, 1969, by LeRoy Neiman

Sources

Photos from Wikimedia Commons