https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/93709/fullStubbs1995Image: 26 x 26 inches (66 x 66 cm)Oil on canvasAcquired through the Ernest I. White, Class of 1893, Endowment Fund97.0160abstracted, drippy painting of a dog
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A member of the Class of 1987, Andrew Ehrenworth is receiving critical acclaim in New York City for his portraits of dogs. These portraits are executed in energetic, drippy brushwork that, like conventional forms of portraiture, capture the personality of the "sitter." Ehrenworth questions the conventions of portraiture and his images bring to mind diverse portraits of Renaissance noblemen, 18th century British aristocrats, and even the disturbing portraits by Francis Bacon, in whose style this portrait of Stubbs has been made. Ehrenworth has stated: "By painting dogs I can play with conventions because the subject matter is seemingly frivolous and because dogs are both individuals and possessions. Individuals in the sense that they are living creatures with their own personalities, and possessions because it is almost impossible to imagine a dog without an owner. Their very neediness inspires paternalism. The fantasy dogs feed is that we can pretend they are members of the family and simultaneously enjoy showing them off as possessions."Paintings20004129040Andrew Ehrenworth97.016