Is Fay Ray the World’s Most Photogenic Dog?

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Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the birth of the photogenic dog Fay Ray, William Wegman’s wily weimaraner that could assume nearly any position, New York’s Senior & Shopmaker Gallery is exhibiting a survey show of vintage 20 x 24 Polaroid prints from the celebrated canine’s primary period of creative modeling. Caught in a variety of comical poses, the talented Fay Ray becomes an elephant, lion, dog walker, doll, and a hypnotist’s muse on the artist’s conceptual commands.

“Fay loved to show off her ability to hold difficult positions,” states Wegman in the gallery’s online catalogue. “If the pose was too easy for her, she got bored. She required a challenge to keep her intensity. You could see it in her eyes.”

William Wegman and Fay is on view at Senior & Shopmaker Gallery through January 15.

Click through below for a gallery of images.

William Wegman, Walker, 1990, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Daisy Nut Cake, 1994, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Hypno, 1988, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Speaker B, 1989, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Doris To Be, 1989, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Dolls, 1991, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Trio, 1991, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Entabled, 1988, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Moosehead, 1994, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery

William Wegman, Fay Ray, 1990, color polaroid, 24 x 20 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Senior & Shopmaker Gallery