George Rodrigue Blue Dog Glass Vase Signed Edition of 35

Artist: George Rodrigue
Title: Blue Dog Vase
Medium: Glass Vase
Edition: A.P., created in addition to the series of 35
Size:  11" high x 7" diameter
Year: 1994
Inscription: Signed "Rodrigue" on body, base is etched with the Pilgrim Glass Company manufacturer's mark and A.P.
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

The Blue Dog Vase is a rare and distinctive glass sculpture by American artist George Rodrigue, best known for his iconic Blue Dog imagery. Standing 11 inches high, this work represents one of the few instances in which Rodrigue translated his celebrated painted motifs into a sculptural form. Produced in collaboration with the Pilgrim Glass Company, the piece bears both the artist's signature and the manufacturer's etched mark on its base, denoting its authenticity and craftsmanship. This particular example is an Artist's Proof (A.P.), created outside the limited edition of thirty-five.

Rodrigue's engagement with glass was both experimental and deeply intentional. While his paintings centered on Louisiana folklore and identity, his foray into glass allowed him to explore the tactile and optical properties of the medium—transparency, color layering, and luminosity—through a sculptural lens. The Blue Dog Vase transforms his most enduring subject into a three-dimensional form, capturing the enigmatic figure in a medium that refracts and reflects light, producing a shifting interplay between surface and depth.

The Blue Dog motif, introduced in the early 1990s, was inspired by Cajun folklore and evolved into a central symbol of Rodrigue's art. In glass, this image acquires new resonance: the luminous material amplifies the figure's sense of mystery and emotional complexity. The piece reflects Rodrigue's ongoing interest in bridging Louisiana's cultural heritage with contemporary artistic expression, translating his visual language from canvas to glass with striking effect.

In both concept and execution, the Blue Dog Vase encapsulates Rodrigue's enduring fascination with form, symbolism, and material innovation. It occupies a unique position in his career—merging fine art, craftsmanship, and cultural identity into a singular, luminous object.

About George Rodrigue

George Rodrigue (1944–2013) was an American artist recognized for his depictions of Louisiana culture and for creating the iconic Blue Dog image. Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, his work was shaped by the history, folklore, and visual atmosphere of the American South. Over a career spanning more than forty years, Rodrigue evolved from a regional narrative painter into a widely known contemporary artist whose practice bridged Southern cultural traditions and modern pop sensibilities.

He studied at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and later at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His early work, produced in the 1960s and 1970s and often called the Cajun series, focused on rural Louisiana life. Using dark, atmospheric backgrounds inspired by the dim interiors of his childhood surroundings, Rodrigue presented figures and scenes with a sense of isolation and timelessness, emphasizing cultural memory and identity.

In the early 1990s, Rodrigue achieved broader recognition with the Blue Dog series. Inspired in part by the Cajun loup-garou legend and modeled after his dog Tiffany, the blue canine figure became a recurring motif set against bold, graphic color fields. The image moved beyond folklore to function as a symbolic, emotionally resonant figure, and it established Rodrigue as one of the most recognizable artists working in a popular visual language.

Throughout his career, Rodrigue balanced accessibility with personal symbolism, and his work resists strict categorization, combining elements of regional narrative, folk influence, and contemporary iconography. His paintings are held in major collections, and his legacy remains closely tied to the cultural identity of Louisiana as well as to late twentieth-century American popular imagery.