Foreword by Nolan Ryan
In celebration of the opening of Rodrigue: Houston, Rodrigue Studio is pleased to announce the publication of a new book featuring the art of George Rodrigue (1944-2013), the first volume to be published since the artist’s death in December 2013.
Rodrigue: The Sanders Collection contains 100 full-color images that cover the breadth of Rodrigue’s career, including his classic Louisiana landscapes, Cajun culture scenes, and the iconic Blue Dog series which catapulted the artist to worldwide fame.
Lavishly illustrated and designed, the new volume features more than 70 rarely seen and never before-published images from the private collection of Don Sanders, Houston businessman, philanthropist, and longtime friend of George Rodrigue. An introductory essay examines the unique relationship between artist and collector, and poignantly describes how their friendship influenced each other’s lives. Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, a friend to both Sanders and Rodrigue, provides a heartfelt Foreword.
Blue Dog fans and collectors will be surprised and delighted to see another side to George Rodrigue’s artistic endeavors beyond the canvas – sculptures, glass renderings, photography, mixed media pieces, art installations, silkscreens, sketches, and even wine labels. The Sanders collection also features many paintings of Blue Dog wearing different coats of colors, along with rarely seen Rodrigue paintings of cats. Don Sanders, a dog lover and a cat lover, is an animal rights activist who founded the animal adoption and rescue organization in Houston called “Friends for Life.”
RODRIGUE: THE SANDERS COLLECTION
George Rodrigue
Foreword by Nolan Ryan
Published by Rodrigue Studio
Hardcover $85.00 / 221 pages / 100 full-color illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-692-28195-6
Publication Date: April 25, 2015
From Publisher’s Weekly, Week of May 18, 2015:
“Texan art collector Don Sanders shares his impressive trove of work by the late Louisiana painter George Rodrigue, the artist behind the Blue Dog paintings, in this hefty, four-color celebration.”
“Cajun born Rodrigue (1944–2013) discovered art while stricken with polio as a child. In adulthood he became an interpreter of Cajun lore, using mythical figures as subjects for his paintings—such as Jolie Blonde—against a Rousseau-esque forest backdrop. Yet it is the cocked ear and vivid colors of the cartoonish pup that brought him fame in the art world and captured the fancy of Sanders, a passionate animal lover and founder of a no-kill animal shelter in Houston.”
“The monograph charts the relationship between artist and patron, which began in 1998 when they met in a gallery in California. Grateful for the support, Rodrigue compared the generosity of his benefactor to that of the Medicis for his zeal as a great patron.”