Accession Number
1981/2.168.8

Title
John Grogan, A Patriot and His Dog, Ireland

Artist(s)
Alen MacWeeney

Object Creation Date
1965-1966, printed 1970

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
19 13/16 in x 15 15/16 in (50.4 cm x 40.5 cm);28 1/8 in x 22 3/16 in (71.4 cm x 56.3 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Carl W. Melcher

Subject matter
This photograph is a chest-level shot of a seated man and his dog. Set inside a domestic scene, the pair sit presumably by a window, the light from which illuminating the man's right side. The man is middle-aged, clean-shaven and bald, and wears a tweed suit. His countenance is contemplative, his brow lightly furrowed and his introspective gaze slightly downcast. The man’s dog is seated in front of him. Facing perpendicular to his line of sight, it gazes past him out the window, its mouth slightly open and tussled hair crisply depicted in the diffused light. On the left, over the shoulder of the man appears a white orb, which could be a fashioning of his chair. The light on the orb echoes the light and shadows draped across both the man and the dog’s faces. The title of this work identifies the man as being a patriot, a reference to his republican and nationalist political leanings during the period of Irish history known as “The Troubles.” 

Physical Description
This photograph depicts a middle-aged man in a suit seated with his dog. The two figures sit inside a domestic space.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
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Keywords
Canis familiaris (species)
Figures
Irish
Portraits
dogs
half-length
interior spaces (spaces by location)
males
man
men (male humans)
modern and contemporary art
patriots
pets (domestic animals)
seated
suits (main garments)