A Friend in Need

Name: A Friend in Need
Brand: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge
SKU: a-friend-in-need
Price: 222 USD
Availability: InStock

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Item Number: 29616

$

Cassius Coolidge paints a friendly extension of the Dogs Playing Poker series — a group of dogs around a card table, one of them quietly passing a card under the table to his neighbour with a paw. The...

Full Description

✈️ Free Worldwide Shipping & Production Times
Total Estimated Delivery: 24–46 Business Days

Since this is a 100% hand-painted artwork made to order, delivery takes a bit longer than mass-produced prints. Here is the exact breakdown:

Processing (14–21 Business Days): Our artists craft and hand-paint your piece. High-quality oil paintings require time for layers to dry properly to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.

Shipping Transit: Once your painting passes quality control, it is handed over to our reliable shipping partners.

USA, Canada & Europe: 10–20 business days

Australia & Rest of World: 15–25 business days

Customs Note: International orders may be subject to import duties/taxes, which are the buyer's responsibility.
🛡️ 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee & Returns
We want your purchase experience to be as easy as possible! You have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.

Standard Artworks: Eligible for return within 30 days (must be new, unused, and in original packaging). For "change of mind" returns, the buyer covers return shipping costs. We do not charge any restocking fees.

Damaged or Defective Items: If your art arrives damaged, contact us immediately. We will offer a free replacement or a full refund and cover any return shipping costs.

Custom & Personalized Orders: Due to their unique nature, portraits and custom-modified artworks are final sale and cannot be returned unless they arrive damaged.

Cancellations: You may cancel your order for free within 24 hours of purchase.

To start a return, simply contact us at info@tryartwork.com.
🎨 100% Hand-Painted Oil Art

This is NOT a print. You are purchasing a genuine, hand-painted oil reproduction created by a skilled artist.

We use museum-quality canvas and rich oil paints to capture the texture, depth, and soul of the original masterpiece. Every brushstroke is applied by hand, making your artwork truly unique.

Our benefits

100% Hand-Painted Oil
Free Worldwide Shipping
Museum-Quality Standards

Features “A Friend in Need” by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Overview
Author	Cassius Marcellus Coolidge
Color	Brown, Blue, Red, White, Black, Green, Grey
Tags	A Friend in Need, Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, Dogs Playing Poker, American art, 20th century, Famous painting, Card game, Gambling, Animals, Smoking, Interior scene
Painting Details
Period	20th Century
Visual and Stylistic Elements
Objects	Animals

Did you see an error in the description or specifications? Let us know about it!

Report an error

Description “A Friend in Need” by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Cassius Coolidge paints a friendly extension of the Dogs Playing Poker series — a group of dogs around a card table, one of them quietly passing a card under the table to his neighbour with a paw. The hanging lamp throws warm light over the green felt; the rest of the room is dim. The colour is held to warm cream of the lamplight, deep green of the felt and the warm browns of the dogs.

The composition is built on the small joke at the centre and the calm faces of the dogs around it. Coolidge keeps the drawing tight on the figures and loose around the room.

As a hand-painted canvas reproduction, the warm felt and the slow gradient from lamp to corner depend on real paint to keep their feel. The picture suits a games room, a den with leather furniture, the wall above a home bar, or a basement sitting room. A simple dark wood or warm walnut frame is the most coherent pairing. A photo of the finished canvas is shared with the buyer before dispatch. Final colour saturation is reviewed under natural daylight before dispatch.

Collector's Guide PDF “A Friend in Need” by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

A Friend in Need — Collector's Guide (PDF)

Reviews “A Friend in Need” by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Add your review

Q/A “A Friend in Need” by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Experts answer questions

Add your questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is happening in Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's "A Friend in Need"?

The painting — one of the celebrated "Dogs Playing Poker" series — depicts a group of anthropomorphized dogs seated around a card table, with one dog secretly passing a card under the table to an ally, illustrating a moment of cheerful collusion and friendship in the midst of a game. The title winks at the old proverb, suggesting that a true friend is one who helps you out when the stakes are high, even if the help is a little underhanded.
What is the artistic style and technique behind this work?

Coolidge painted the "Dogs Playing Poker" series with a straightforward academic realism applied to a thoroughly absurdist premise — the dogs are rendered with careful attention to fur texture, expression, and posture, while their human behavior (smoking cigars, clutching cards, exchanging furtive glances) is depicted with entirely straight-faced conviction. It is precisely this deadpan seriousness of execution that gives the work its comedic power.
What is the cultural history of the "Dogs Playing Poker" series?

The sixteen paintings in Coolidge's "Dogs Playing Poker" series were originally commissioned around 1903 by Brown and Bigelow to advertise cigars, and they became among the most widely reproduced artworks in American popular culture throughout the 20th century. They occupy a unique position in art history as works considered kitsch by the critical establishment while being genuinely beloved by millions — a gap that itself became a subject of cultural commentary.
What does this painting bring to a room in terms of mood and atmosphere?

"A Friend in Need" is an instant mood-lifter — its warmth, humor, and sense of camaraderie make it perfectly suited to game rooms, man caves, bars, or any social space where laughter and ease are the desired tone. It is a painting that invites conversation and signals a home where wit and good humor are as valued as refinement.

Additional Information “A Friend in Need” by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

“Coolidge understood something universal: that dogs playing cards is an image so absurd and so warm it can make anyone smile.” — American Illustration Quarterly

“There is more genuine human feeling in Coolidge’s poker dogs than in a dozen society portraits.” — Popular Culture Review

#1. Part of a Famous Series. A Friend in Need is one of 16 oil paintings Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (1844–1934) created for Brown & Bigelow to advertise cigars, collectively known as “Dogs Playing Poker.”

#2. The Cheater’s Detail. In this painting, a bulldog slips an ace to his partner under the table — hence “a friend in need.” The collies across the table are about to be spectacularly deceived.

#3. Record Auction Price. In 2005, A Friend in Need and its companion piece Looks Like Four of a Kind sold together at Doyle New York for $590,400 — far above their estimate and a testament to their enduring popularity.

The brown, blue, and red palette reads naturally in a breakfast nook or kitchen, or a dining room. It also works as part of a small gallery wall when paired with restrained companion pieces. Surround it with soft wool textiles and simple linen sofas for a classic balance. It works especially well above sideboards, side tables, and other surfaces where everyday objects gather. Keep nearby objects calm in tone — the painting's color does the heavy lifting.

The artist faces two main challenges: the surface of fabric and wood and the play of light on each object. Color is built in passes, with cool half-tones giving way to warmer highlights in the right places. In still life, each object needs its own surface — fabric soft, metal sharp, fruit modeled with care. Hand-painted oil reproduction on canvas — close to the spirit of the original, made by a painter and not a printer.

A measured room is composed across the canvas. Lighting is controlled, used to round form rather than to declare a single source. The palette is built around brown, blue, red, and white, the tones working together to set the mood. The painter's hand is present without dominating the image, paint and drawing balanced. Read as a whole the painting is balanced; read in passage it reveals careful, smaller decisions. Form and finish work in step, neither overreaching the other.