Fine Art Auction House Goes to the Dogs

The art world can get pretty bitchy. This was even more the case than usual at Barkfest, a brunch this weekend at Bonhams auction house which served as a preview for "Dogs in Show & Field," an art sale taking place this Wednesday. Potential art buyers were encouraged to bring their various canines to not only see portraits of dogs on the wall, but also meet others of their species. The event benefited the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.

For the last several years, the sale and the party—offering mimosas, fruit and various carbohydrates (croissants, bagels, muffins) to people; water bowls and fresh dog treats for their pets—has coincided with the Westminster Dog Show, which finishes Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. In fact, a few of the dogs that showed up to Barkfest on Sunday would be competing in the Dog Show.

London, a Standard Poodle and the reigning AKC/Eukanuba National Champion stood on a card table, as two of his owners, Michelle Molnar and Jamie Danburg of Boca Raton, Fla., passed out Valentine's Day cookies and pins encouraging his win this week.

Why is London named London, you may ask? "Well, we're big Rolling Stones fans," said Chris Bailey, one of his breeders. "His father was Jagger, and there was a Mick somewhere in his line, too."

As London posed for photographs and greeted fans, Garth, a 3 1/2-year-old bloodhound, was enjoying his very first art exhibition. Karen Dewey, his owner, had brought him down from the Lake Sunapee area of New Hampshire, and he would be competing the next day, too. Being at an art show wasn't awkward with a 132-pound dog, said Ms. Dewey. "Not for him," she said. "He's well-trained and well-behaved and well-socialized."

Meanwhile, Roslyn and Craig Lauterbach, who own a commercial plumbing business in Flemington, N.J., were lugging around their two 150-pound Landseer Newfoundlands, Port and Starboard. They were pretty docile, though they did slobber a bit on the floor.

The Lauterbachs said they were used to have such huge puppies out and out about. "It is like when you have children," Ms. Lauterbach explained. "The only way they're going to learn to be social is if you bring them out."

"People always want to know about [if the dogs have] accidents," said Alan Fausel of Bonhams. "But for the most part, these are city dogs. They're well behaved around crowds and people. They're used to interiors and doing their business when they have to do their business."

There are 167 lots in the Bonhams show, including a sketch of a Scottish terrier in an armchair by Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin, an English Setter in a field by Reuben Ward Binks, an oil painting of several Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in a basket by James W. Brook and an English Bulldog and a cat at rest in a stable by Ralph Hedley. None of them would be out of place on a note card you might get from your aunt in Millbrook.

Mr. Fausel explained that the market for dog paintings is particularly up for field sports and "gun dogs," i.e. animals that go after pheasants, ducks and woodcocks, but softer in the fox hunt, "because that is been banned in England."

"We have people who want a certain type of terrier or pug or bulldog," Mr. Fausel went on. "They're breed or job specific. They want art of their own animal, rather than just having a nice painting of a dog on the wall." For the most part, Mr. Fausel explained, "these are end users, people who love things and want to buy them. They're more invested emotionally. They are going to put this up, rather than buy and resell."

Laura Brightsen, who works in venture capital, and her Yorkshire terrier Sofie, had come with their friends Meridith Skodnik, who works in financial technology sales, and her miniature Golden Doodle Lola. "It is fun to do something with your dog in New York," said Ms. Skodnik. "Otherwise we just go to Bergdorf."

With so much stimuli and an allergic reaction coming on, it was hard to focus on the paintings up for sale. Apparently, Ms. Brightsen was having difficulty getting Sofie to respond to any of the artwork, too. "But she's responding to the dog biscuits," Ms. Brightsen said.