Blue Dog with Tree Original Oil Painting Signed Contemporary Art

Artist: George Rodrigue
Title: Blue Dog with Tree
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas
Size: 14" x 18" unframed ; 18" x 22" framed
Inscription: Signed in red, bottom corner
Condition: Museum quality
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

Featuring George Rodrigue's adored Blue Dog, this original oil on canvas painting also showcases the fully saturated colors and recognizable imagery for which the artist is famous. The rich background tones and haunting, dark tree set the stage for the Blue Dog to the be the star. Rodrigue expertly captures every nuance of the dog's expression, making him seem incredibly human. Like much of Rodrigue's art, we can see the influence of his home state of Louisiana. While there is no doubt George Rodrigue's is essential pop art at its best, the artist enriches each painting with deep layers of myth, meaning, and symbolism that elevate his pop art to a new level. George Rodrigue's original Blue Dog with Tree oil painting is signed in the bottom corner in red by the artist and comes with a certificate of authenticity from Modern Artifact.

An artist who found great inspiration in his native Louisiana, George Rodrigue is celebrated for his iconic and long-running Blue Dog series of paintings. Drawn from a ghost story of his homeland, the Blue Dog became a ubiquitous motif and one of the most recognizable icons in American contemporary culture.

Expressing a personal relationship with Louisiana and his spiritual and cultural ideas as they pertained to his homeland, George Rodrigue gave meaning to a new phrase: Cajun Artist. Visually interpreting the landscape and the rich history of Cajun people, he painted bayou scenes with Louisiana oak trees, family gatherings in the open and local myths. It was one myth in particular that launched Rodrigue into stardom. The myth of a loup-garou, a werewolf-type dog who lurked in the swamps around Louisiana, gave rise to the acclaimed Blue Dog character. Modeled after his late dog Tiffany, a melancholy blue mutt with yellow eyes allowed the artist to jump from a dark, dreary landscape to a very bright Pop Art, contemporary color palette.

Rodrigue was awarded an Honorable Mention from Le Salon in Paris in 1975, an honorary doctorate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2009, the Distinguished Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2011 and received the Opus award from the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in 2013. In 2009, the artist formed the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts, a non-profit organization which advocates the importance of the visual arts in children’s development and supports a variety of art educational programs.

With each of his series, Rodrigues developed a new mode of expression in a contemporary way, but always rooted in Louisiana and it timeless symbols. His works are about life and the humanity searching for answers.

Born in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1944, George Rodrigue had spent the majority of his life in his native country. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 69 after a long battle with cancer. The value of Rodrigue’s art continues to rise after his death. In April 2015, the Blue Dog painting was sold at the Neal Auction Company of New Orleans for $173,000.