Fox Collectors

I have a light hearted topic for the dog days of summer that are upon us. I think I have one of Nash's favorite dogs at my house. Before you start doing the dog year math let me qualify that this dog is in the form of a 1919 oil painting purchased at Shelby Foote's estate sale in 2011. Most historians are well acquainted with Mr. Foote. He was one of the loquacious commentators on the Ken Burn's Civil War PBS documentary and the author of the three volume masterpiece of the same. I attended the sale at Mr. Foote's Memphis home and was drawn to a picture of a bird dog over the fireplace. Turns out the painting was from another estate and had been added. I was disappointed that it did not ever belong to Foote but it did have another "famous" owner.

The painting belonged to Charles Cordra York Jr. His father and family purchased the sporting goods store that Nash (and partners)owned in Memphis Tn. from about 1917-1925. The painting hung in and came with the sale of the store. Mr. York and family ran their store until the late 1970s . Mr Cordra admired the painting so he brought it home in the 70s where it hung until about 2011. I have exhausted my research for now and believe it to maybe be " Ole Dan" if it is really one of Nash's dogs. Nash describes Ole Dan in "Sell Ole Dan?" and other articles as a crossbreed (pointer and setter) and having a blueish coat. (clues in the painting indicate both) It is strictly a guess. All we know for sure (and backed in a letter from Mr. York) was it did belong to Nash and hung in his sporting goods store. Nash sold the store around 1925 as his writing and reporting career took off. Would he have left a painting of a favorite dog? Well...he was 45 when the store sold and probably had several "favorite" dogs by then. We will never know but it most certainly was a "commissioned" oil painting signed Spencer 1919. That dog had to be very special to someone. It is now special to me and trying to figure out the history is in some way better than knowing all. If anyone can add to the history of Nash's dogs I would love to know more.

Let me know who I can email the photos to and someone please post them.

Mike Russell

You can send the pics to me at AHFCA@comcast.net


Dave

time to get the books out- i think there are a couple photos of Dan to compare to

tnmike wrote: Turns out the painting was from another estate and had been added. I was disappointed that it did not ever belong to Foote but it did have another "famous" owner.

Cool story nonetheless; looking forward to seeing pics of the painting!

Pics sent to Dave. Thanks.

Here they are --

A quick look through my books only came up with one picture of a dog identified as Old Dan and it is not great. This from page 153 of the Putnam Edition of Tattered Coat --
This picture appears to me to be from the mid-1930s or later as the shotgun Enoch Brown is carrying looks for all the world to me like a Remington Model 32 TC.

Thanks Dave. I spent a day at the main branch of the Memphis Library in the special reading room (or something like that) going through all of Nash's books. They have a complete set but you have to read them on site. I came away with two theories IF it is Nash's dog. One would be "Chubb" but i think he was a english spaniel and although the ears on my dog lean that way, the head is just too blocky I think. If Old Dan ( second theory) was in a picture that you feel is from the thirties that rules him out most likely to unless he was 11 plus years old. Once you factor in "artistic license" the comparisons almost 100 years later are just for sport and the dim hope a smoking gun pic is out there somewhere. Much thanks again. You are one knowledgeable guy.

Sometimes paintings are like people and just take their secrets with them. When my hunting friends are at my home we/they have been known to toast Nash's dog. If it turns out we are just toasting Nash's dog picture then so be it. The good times are real.

it looks very much to me that someone tried to copy the style of Edmund Osthaus

Are you related to him?

tnmike wrote:Are you related to him?

no - i have more than a few examples of his work - my moniker comes from my late setter - Old Hemlock Osthaus

OH, that was my first thought when I saw the painting that it looked like an Osthaus dog. The stance, tail set, colorin, etc. all looked that to me.

That is one nice painting!.....things dreams are made of. If I were asked what the most important aspect of the bird hunters sport is.....My answer is: The dogs! No price could be paid for what a good dog adds to the gunning.

SXS ohio wrote:That is one nice painting!.....things dreams are made of. If I were asked what the most important aspect of the bird hunters sport is.....My answer is: The dogs! No price could be paid for what a good dog adds to the gunning.

I agree Guns come and go but the dogs steal a piece of our heart.