Dogs Playing Poker Wall Calendar 2005 : The Masterpieces of C.M. Coolidge (Workman Wall Calendars)

Rating:
Summary: Fun Calendar for anyone who likes Coolidge's paintings
Review: This is a fun calendar for anyone who enjoys Coolidge's paintnings. I don't disagree with the other reviewer. It appears that one of the paintings is not Coolidge and it is not the same quality. On the other hand, I would hate to deprive myself of all of the fun pictures to snub the publisher.

Rating:
Summary: More Misconceived Editing By Workman Publishing.
Review: While this 2005 Coolidge calendar is better than the one for 2004, it also includes an egregious error. The version of the painting "Kelly Pool" is not a Coolidge painting, but an obvious and poorly done fake taken from the Coolidge print. If you look at prints that are available, you will see that a lot of details are more "fudged" than in Coolidge's original. Look at the chairs here--they don't remotely have the same rounded, three-dimensional quality that Coolidge gave them. The dogs' limbs are more wooden, more twig-like. There are many areas where the straight lines, the definition of objects, and the fields of color, are quite messy. And lastly, the artist who copied Coolidge--probably in the last five years and probably in (my guess would be) China--didn't even know how pool tables are constructed. There are certain mechanical features in Coolidge's original pool table that are partially omitted here and partially mis-drawn. So you see, this is not a Coolidge painting, but a poorly done copy.

In design terms, the best part of this calendar is the box/envelope it comes in, but then it'll just get thrown away.

If people are determined to have a Coolidge calendar, then they're going to buy this. It just seems sad to encourage a publishing company that isn't using expertise or high standards to judge an artist's work, and may mislead people who actually care about Coolidge's art.

Rating:
Summary: This Year's Calendar Includes a Fake Coolidge
Review: While this 2005 Coolidge calendar is better than the one for 2004, it also includes an egregious error. The version of the painting "Kelly Pool" is not a Coolidge painting, but an obvious and poorly done fake taken from the Coolidge print. If you look at prints that are available, you will see that a lot of details are more "fudged" than in Coolidge's original. Look at the chairs here--they don't remotely have the same rounded, three-dimensional quality that Coolidge gave them. The dogs' limbs are more wooden, more twig-like. There are many areas where the straight lines, the definition of objects, and the fields of color, are quite messy. And lastly, the artist who copied Coolidge--probably in the last five years and probably in (my guess would be) China--didn't even know how pool tables are constructed. There are certain mechanical features in Coolidge's original pool table that are partially omitted here and partially mis-drawn. So you see, this is not a Coolidge painting, but a poorly done copy. In design terms, the best part of this calendar is the box/envelope it comes in, but then it'll just get thrown away. If people are determined to have a Coolidge calendar, then they're going to buy this. It just seems sad to encourage a publishing company that isn't using expertise or high standards to judge an artist's work, and may mislead people who actually care about Coolidge's art.