SPOT THE DOG Exhibition Celebrates Canine Companions in Art

Spot the Dog: Canine Companions in Art is the latest exhibition celebrating Carrick Hill's thirtieth anniversary of public opening. The exhibition will be opened on 9 March by Martyn Cook Director of The David Roche Foundation, and will be on show through until 30 June 2017.

Sourced from public and private collections, including the Art Gallery of South Australia and the David Roche Foundation, the exhibition will include paintings, photographs, decorative art and books which showcase the dog as a close companion and unsuspecting model. From the Hayward's beloved Great Danes, Woodley and Witchet, to today's visitors enjoying the grounds with their family pets, dogs are a common sight on the Carrick Hill grounds.

Associate Curator of the exhibition Anna Jug said, 'The dog has always been welcome at Carrick Hill. The Haywards were great dog lovers and it is fitting that a show dedicated to the display of dogs in art should feature during this year of celebration.'

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new 'Walk the Dog' trail throughout the Carrick Hill grounds. For a gold coin donation patrons are invited to walk the sign posted trail with their dogs and mark off the breeds on the signs on a checklist provided. On completion each owner and dog will receive a treat.

Art Historian Katherine Kovacic, who specialises in animals in art, said 'Dogs have romped through the history of art for thousands of years. They play important roles in religious and mythological scenes, take centre stage in hunting images, pose regally with or without their human companions, and often just hang around in the background of large scenes, doing what dogs do. Looking at dogs is a fascinating way of exploring art and culture through the ages and you can tell a lot about a person by the canine company he or she keeps. This applied just as much in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds as it does today.

'Several of the paintings in this exhibition are a tribute to the mateship between man and dog. Whether painting, photograph or sculpture, and regardless of the type of dog, the works in this exhibition offer us a glimpse of doggy personality and a reminder of just some of the things we love about dogs. Companions, confidantes and occasionally canine clowns, our lives and art are richer for their presence'.

Spot the Dog will be complemented with by a public program of talks comprising:

Friday 10 March: Steven Miller - Dogs in Australian Art;

Wednesday, 10 May Neil Waters - The Dingo took my Thylacine;

Friday, 19 May Moana Colmer - Bob the Railway Dog;

Thursday 25 May Anna Jug - A history of dog portraiture

Tickets for the exhibition are $12.00 (Concession), $17.00 (Adult) & $36.00 (Family) and may be purchased at the main entry to the house. Admission to the grounds is free.

Carrick Hill, 46 Carrick Hill Drive, Springfield
open Wednesday to Sundays and Public Holidays 10.00 am to 4:30 pm.

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