DACHSHUND

The Dachshund was bred in the forests of Germany in the seventeenth century to hunt badgers, a noble task that required a body engineered for tunnels and a temperament impervious to fear. The result was a creature of staggering audacity: a small dog with the courage of a much larger one, a personality irreducible to its dimensions.

Pablo Picasso's Dachshund Lump strode through La Californie as if he owned it, and inspired one of the master's final great series. Andy Warhol collected them by the pair; David Hockney has painted them obsessively for decades; Marlon Brando refused to travel without his. The Dachshund's particular blend of dignity and absurdity has long made it the favored companion of artists, a creature who understands the seriousness of play.

The Dachshund volume captures the singular presence of a breed that defies its size. A bold vermilion linen cover, extreme close-up fur photography that transforms every wire and every smooth-haired strand into a study of texture and intent. A book for those who know that personality is the truest form of stature.