C.M. Coolidge - 1844-1934
Born to abolitionist Quakers on September 18,1844 in a small town in upstate New York near Watertown, Cassius Marcellus Coolidge was known to his friends as 'Cash'. He earned certificates from State and National Business College and founded a bank in Antwerp, New York that he sold in 1889. A self-portrait hangs in the bank to this day. He also owned other businesses such
...see more » as drug stores, a newspaper, and received a patent for a device to collect fares on streetcars.
Although he had no formal training, his natural aptitude for drawing led to a job creating cartoons for a newspaper and teaching penmanship - all while in his twenties. He also earned money as a 'lightning cartoonist', which involved making quick sketches of people in an audience for 25 to 50 cents each. This type of interactive entertainment was popular before radio and television came along to distract audiences. Coolidge created artwork for local cigar companies for lithographed box covers and inner lids. Other artistic accomplishments included illustrations for books, an opera, scenery design, costume design, and the writing of two comedies.
His art was considered traditional, but he was most well known for his anthropomorphic paintings showing dogs imitating human form in his "Dogs Playing Poker" series. This series was his most recognized work, but it was considered far ahead of its time, as it was then a full half-century before the surrealist art movement began. The Poker series was commissioned by Brown & Bigelow, a company involved in remembrance advertising. Coolidge is credited with creation of Comic Foregrounds - those life-size cutouts in which you insert your head for the photographic opportunity to portray an amusing character, beautiful woman or popular personality. His mail order business for Comic Foregrounds provided income in later years of his life. The wide variety of characters he devised for these images are still popular today at carnivals and amusement parks.
This creative and imaginative man died in New York on January 13, 1934, just short of his 90th birthday. Although Coolidge's name is not as well known as some other artists, his work is well known and can be found everywhere.« see less
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