“You know, there are only so many ways to draw a Beagle.”
Oh really?
In 2011, Robynne Raye, Modern Dog founder, got a note from a friend who’d been in Target when she spotted merchandise for a Disney movie featuring dog drawings eerily similar to artwork seen in a Modern Dog publication celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary.
Raye ordered some of the goods, and as soon as they arrived, she knew that 26 of Modern Dog’s illustrations had been plagiarized. It wasn’t just that artists knows their work, it was also that the illustrations depicted Modern Dog’s own beloved dogs.
Modern Dog launched a lawsuit against Disney and Target, and friends and supporters chipped in to help with the impossible legal fees. During the proceedings, one of the defendant’s lawyers suggested that the similarity between the drawings was the result of natural coincidence: “You know, there are only so many ways to draw a beagle.”
The outrageous comment inspired the book, “1,000 Dog Portraits From the People Who Love Them.” The first chapter is titled, “1000 Ways to Draw a Beagle” and the rest of the book proceeds to depict just about every breed in various ways with contributions from artists. One of the good ones is “Tommy Sawyer” by Lisa Hildebrandt.
By the way, Modern Dog held on and got a settlement from their corporate giant opponents. We love this book for its “David and Goliath” back story, but also because (surprise!) it contains terrific artwork of purebred dogs.
Image: Beagle by DJ Rogers – k9artgallery appears with consent
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