Born in Louisiana in 1944, George Rodrigue (pronounced rod-REEG) captured lush Louisiana landscapes, small-town heroes, and Cajun culture in his paintings. Rodrigue's style and popularity shifted when he began painting a series focused on a single subject, now known as the Blue Dog. Originally based on the Cajun urban legend of the "loup-garou," or werewolf, Rodrigue found the model for the Blue Dog right in his studio. Inspired by a photograph of his dog, Tiffany, who had just died, created Blue Dog. In reality Tiffany was black and white, but in his imagination her fur became blue and her eyes a haunting yellow. By the early 1990s, Rodrigue dropped the Cajun influences altogether and devoted his full attention to the Blue Dog series. “People who have seen the Blue Dog painting always remember it,” he was quoted as saying. “They are really about life, about mankind searching for answers. The dog never changes position. He just stares at you. And you’re looking at him, looking for some answers, ‘Why are we here?,’ and he’s just looking back at you, wondering the same. The dog doesn’t know. You can see this longing in his eyes, this longing for love, answers.” —Submitted by Heritage Auctions