Current Exhibitions

Dogs of Tibet

Holy Dogs, Holy Land: Constance Coleman’s Tibetan Journey

When Constance Depler Coleman achieved the lofty summit of her eightieth year, the matriarch of modern dog portraiture put down her paintbrush and (one might say) put her head in the clouds. She announced to a dumbfounded family that she was bound for the mountains of Tibet. A two and one-half-week National Geographic expedition to Tibet led by Ian Baker, author of The Heart of the World, struck her as the perfect opportunity to realize a lifelong dream she had held dear for more than sixty years.

Once her family recovered from their shock at the news, Ms. Coleman admits that it took a bit of finesse to calm their concerns about her health and safety while traveling halfway around the world and to the very tip-top of it (three miles above sea level, for goodness’ sake!). When her daughter agreed to accompany her on the trip, a happy détente was reached.  And with that, a new chapter in Ms. Coleman’s life and career began to unfurl like a prayer flag on a Tibetan mountaintop. As they started out on their Tibetan journey, Ms. Coleman remembers thinking, “How can I turn this into my work?” The Museum is privileged to showcase the unfolding of her new direction with the exhibition dedicated to her Tibetan odyssey in Dogs of Tibet opening in March.

More than a half-century ago, Constance Depler Coleman combined her love of dogs with her art in a lighted-hearted manner and broke new ground in the field of dog portraiture. Her well-known 1950s playful caricatures of humans portrayed as dogs sitting at bars, playing poker, or dancing the night away in fancy nightclubs are highly sought collectibles today. Over the years, Ms. Coleman built her stellar reputation in commissioned animal portraiture and became known for her ability to expertly capture the personality of a beloved animal companion with her brush and sensitive eye for detail, color, and setting. She stands out as one of the premier artists of dog portraiture today, counting among her clients Oscar de la Renta, Lilly Pulitzer, and Oprah Winfrey. Her recent commissioned portrait of the pair of White House Scotties, Barney and Beazley, is now a part of the Museum’s permanent collection.

Ms. Coleman’s involvement in the dog world has always been more than a purely artistic one. Over the years, her continued support of humane and medical efforts for dogs and other animals has not gone unappreciated. Not surprisingly, therefore, one of the first things that struck her when she reached Tibet was the “real communication—the connection—that exists between the people and their dogs.” She recognized a quality mirrored in the Tibetan people and their animals. “The Tibetans are such lovely, serene, calm human beings,” she says. “I was amazed at their mellowness. And their dogs are that way. They were the most laid-back, sweet dogs.” Even the Tibetan Mastiffs Ms. Coleman encountered guarding the monasteries and houses in Tibet surprised her by their even-tempered nature. “They are strictly guard dogs, and they will stand up at a gate and begin ‘woof-woofing’ at an intruder,” she says. “They will put on a big display. But once the person passes by, they simply lie down again. They don’t get excited. I never saw any viciousness in their animals.” 

Dogs do play an integral role in the nonviolent Buddhist culture of Tibet. For thousands of years, the monasteries in Tibet have raised and cherished dogs as animals particularly worthy of reverence. The Lhasa Apsos and Tibetan Spaniels peering out of a monk’s sleeve or perched on satin pillows are believed to be the reincarnation of monks who have not yet reached nirvana. According to tradition, these dogs were never to be bought or sold, and only rarely traveled to new homes as the rare and precious gifts of a lama.  

Ms. Coleman did not encounter the pampered and purebred pets one might expect to find in a land attaching so much heartfelt significance to its canine companions. Instead, what she found in Tibet were native mixed breeds everywhere, from medium-sized shaggy dogs uncombed and bedecked with bells and red collars happily trotting along on leashes beside their masters, to a Pomeranian mix she found in a tent cozily ensconced on a pile of quilts. The doyenne of the classic dog portrait was charmed. “In Tibet,” says Ms Coleman, “dogs look like dogs.”

Ms. Coleman was fascinated by the other animals she encountered in Tibet as well. “The yaks, the funny little black pigs, the goats, the sheep, the donkeys, the ponies, and the chickens—they come in every color you can imagine!” To an artist with a love of color and humorous detail she delighted to find that the Tibetans shared it as well. “They decorate their animals with ribbons and flowers.  And they have now even started decorating their latest form of transportation—their motorcycles!”

Back in the States, Ms. Coleman and her daughter soon made plans for their return to Tibet. For the first time in her illustrious career as a commissioned artist, Ms. Coleman was about to embark on a project all her own. On a second trip to Tibet in the fall, she and her daughter spent a month in the Kham region, meeting more of the gentle people of Tibet and their animals. Ms. Coleman’s daughter spent time distributing funds she had raised in the States to benefit the needy children they had encountered on their first trip, while Ms. Coleman continued her quest to find out more about the people of Tibet and their relationship to their animals. The pictures she took and the images in her mind, the stories she heard, the people she talked to—all will find their way to her canvas in the pen and ink drawings and colored pencils and pastels of Tibetan animals that will make up the March exhibition of her work at the Museum. She hopes to take this project and her love for Tibet, the Tibetan people, and their animals even further. “This exhibit is the first step. The project is evolving,” she says. Of course, another trip to Tibet is a must, and she hopes that a book on Tibetan people and their animals will materialize sometime in the near future.

Like the Tibetan prayer wheels the Lhasa Apsos and Tibetan Spaniels reputedly helped the monks of Tibet turn with their paws, there is no doubt that Ms. Coleman’s own version of a Tibetan prayer wheel will have all the help it needs to keep it spinning—as she continues to capture on canvas the joyous spirit of Tibet’s holy land and its “holy dogs.”

Dogs of Tibet opens in the Special Exhibit Gallery on March 7 and will be available to visitors through May 7.

Dogs of Tibet, Nomads Guard Dog,  pastel by  Constance D. Coleman


Dogs of Tibet, Guarding the Coutyard, pastel by Constance D. Coleman


Constance D. Coleman and the Red Hat ladies of Litang

Ms. Coleman found women the world over share a common bond.  “We’re all interested in what each of us is wearing, what jewelry we have on, and we are curious about these things. This is just as true of the women of Tibet as women anywhere.  It was a common sight to see a group of ladies sitting together on a curb dressed in colorful clothing,” recalls Coleman. “This gathering of Tibetan women in their unique hats somehow reminded me of the Red Hat ladies in America.”