The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog

If you are visiting the St Louis area, the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog is a must see for all dog lovers.

The Museum of the Dog regularly displays one of the largest collections of art objects portraying dogs. Many of their over 700 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and other pieces of artwork are on permanent display, including Sir Edwin Landseer's Deerhound and Recumbent Foxhound, James Ward's Portrait of Salukis, Arthur Wardle's The Intruder and many works by Maud Earl. The Museum of the Dog regularly receives gifts of artwork by foundations, private parties and bequests.

The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog was founded by the American Kennel Club in 1981 under the name of The Dog Museum of America. The museum, housed in the American Kennel Club offices at 51 Madison Avenue in New York City, immediately began receiving donations of artwork from benefactors. The first exhibit, Best of Friends: The Dog in Art, opened in September of 1982.

As the permanent collection of the museum continued to grow in size, a larger space was needed. In 1985 the museum was relocated to St Louis, Missouri. In 1995, the museum was renamed the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog.

The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog is now permanently located at 1721 S. Mason Road in St. Louis, Missouri. The museum is open to visitors on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. The Museum of the Dog is closed on Mondays and all major holidays. Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for senior citizens and $1 for children. Museum of the Dog Memberships are available including an individual membership for $35, a family membership for $65 and a patron of the arts membership for $1,000.

The mission statement of the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog is as follows:

"The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog is dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of the art, artifacts and literature of the dog for the purposes of education, historical perspective, aesthetic enjoyment and in order to enhance the appreciation for and knowledge of the significance of the dog and the human/canine relationship."

resource: http://www.museumofthedog.org