I’ve had this print of a painting for around twenty years.
I bought it at a garage sale in my neighborhood as a kid, and I’ve brought it with me everywhere I’ve moved since. Despite having it for so long, I’ve never closely looked at it until writing about it now. Doing so revealed two things: The painting is titled Troubled Pals, and the artist is Keith Ward.
Once I realized that, I tried to track down anything else about this painter or painting. The first result was a painting with a similar setup but an adjusted setting.
I found this version less impactful—what’s tough in this situation? Is the implication supposed to be that the boy doesn’t have enough money for the dog food in question? The problem is unclear compared to the baseball version I have.
Plus, I think the dog in mine is cuter.
I was able to find a few basic biographies of Mr. Ward on sites that posted his artwork. In short, he lived 1906–2000, was born in Kansas, but mostly grew up in California. He spent his early career out east after attending art school in New York, but eventually ended up back in California. This blog post from 2007 is the most comprehensive overview of his work and style I could find.
There’s no exciting revelation here, but I’m happy to know a bit more about this print that’s always been near my desk.