As almost everyone in Ann Arbor knows, come mid-July the Ann Arbor Art Fair takes over our city and artists and art lovers from around the country come to participate and take in all the fair has to offer. To commemorate the event we decided to post a few pictures of famous artists and their pets! (see the slider to the right).

Animals have often been subject matter for the artist. Pets have often held a place of high honor in wealthy families and were included in paintings of royals. Animals in paintings were often symbolic of various characteristics. Dogs represented loyalty, fidelity and strength; cats on the other hand could be understood as seductive and cunning or playful.

The tradition of painting animals and pets has continued through modern art into the contemporary art world. We hope you all have a chance to make it to the Ann Arbor Art Fair and if you own a painting of your pet we would love to see it! Please send the pic to our email and we’ll publish it in a follow-up post!