Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (September 18, 1844 – January 13, 1934) was an American artist, mainly known for his series of paintings Dogs Playing Poker. Known as "Cash" or "Kash" in his family, he often signed his work in the 19th century with the latter spelling, sometimes spelling his name, for comic effect, as Kash Koolidge.

He had little formal training as an artist. After leaving the family farm in the early 1860s, Coolidge had many careers. Between 1868 and 1872 he worked as a druggist and sign painter, founded a bank and a newspaper, then moved from Antwerp, New York, to Rochester, where he started painting dogs in human situations. Coolidge began his art career in his twenties, one of his early jobs being the creation of cartoons for a local newspaper.

Coolidge, who created at least eight variations on the dog/poker theme, including A Friend in Need (1903), the most frequently reproduced of the bunch, wasnt the first to paint anthropomorphized animals theyve always been easy fodder for comedy. But it was his good luck to become a commercial artist at a time when American businesses were beginning to invest heavily in advertising.

Coolidge began his relationship with the firm in From the mid-1900s to the mid-1910s, Coolidge created a series of sixteen oil paintings for them, all of which featured anthropomorphic dogs. The series of 16 commissioned paintings and their themes are: A Bachelor's Dog – reading the mail A Bold Bluff – poker Breach of Promise Suit – testifying in court A Friend in Need – poker, cheating His Station and Four Aces – poker New Year's Eve in Dogville – ballroom dancing One to Tie Two to Win – baseball Pinched with Four Aces – poker, illegal gambling Poker Sympathy – poker Post Mortem – poker, camaraderie The Reunion – smoking and drinking, camaraderie Riding the Goat – Masonic initiation Sitting up with a Sick Friend – poker, gender relations Stranger in Camp – poker, camping Ten Miles to a Garage – travel, car trouble, teamwork Waterloo – poker

Perhaps the most famous of Coolidges paintings, it depicts seven dogs sitting around a table playing poker in the wee morning hours. It derives its name from the bulldog handing an ace under the table to his friend. With that additional ace, the dog with his back to the viewer will have four aces.

This painting does not have any gambling, but Coolidge still portrays the same segment of society as the poker playing pooches. Perhaps waiting for a game, this dog sits in his favorite chair, smoking a cigar with plenty more close by, a glass of alcohol within reach, and a paper in his lap. He reads the days mail and has no worries or women within sight. The idealized bachelor life. It was most likely painted between 1909 and 1910.