Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (September 18, 1844 – January 13, 1934) was an American artist, mainly known for his paintings of dogs playing poker. Known as "Cash" or "Kash" in his family, he often signed his work in the 19th century with the latter spelling, sometimes spelling out his entire name, for comic effect, as "Kash Koolidge".

According to the advertising firm Brown & Bigelow, then primarily a producer of advertising calendars, Coolidge began his relationship with the firm in 1903. From the mid-1900s to the mid-1910s, Coolidge created sixteen oil paintings for them, all of which featured anthropomorphic dogs, including nine scenes of dogs playing poker, a meme Coolidge is credited with inventing.

It has long been speculated that Coolidge was the actual father of Calvin Coolidge the 30th President of the United States. They shared a taciturn nature and a love of dogs.

Via Wikipedia