The Cheekenbocker Museum holds one of the more particular collections in the world: several hundred works of Western art in which the principal figures are, without exception, dogs.
The collection began, as many do, with a single acquisition. It has not stopped.
Each work has been re-examined, re-cast and re-hung. Wall labels give the original artist, the original date and the original location, because those facts are not in dispute. On the rest, the museum takes the position that the works speak for themselves.
Admission
Free. The museum is open daily.
The gift shop
Everything on view is available in the shop, printed on paper, canvas, cotton and ceramic. Proceeds fund further acquisitions, of which there are many.
Chico
Cheekenbocker began with a rescue dog.
Chico was our bull terrier. We rescued him in 2022 and he saved our lives, which is a large thing to say about a dog and we mean it exactly as written. Everything here follows from that — the collection, the museum, the whole conceit.
The artwork is our way of saying that a dog like this belongs in a gilt frame. Most of the paintings we borrow from were commissioned to make someone look important. It seemed only fair.
We lost him in July 2026. This is our tribute to him.