Cassius Marcellus Coolidge(1844- 1934) was a United States painter best known for a series of nine paintings of anthropomorphized Dogs Playing Poker.The most famous painting is "A Friend in Need " The caricatures of these dogs dressed like humans and sitting around a poker table have become not only pop and "schlock-art" icons, but much-imitated and parodied throughout the last century.The famous "Dogs Playing Poker" series have become some of the most popular and recognizable paintings in American art history, and certainly some of the most famous card-playing artwork in the world.