Dog Days

The Dog Days of Summer—July 3 through August 11—are usually the hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

The phrase originates from ancient times, when people noticed that the constellation Sirius, also called the Dog Star, rose in the sky around the same time as sunrise. They believed that Sirius, one of the brightest stars in the heavens, caused the summer heat.

Our observation of Dog Days comes complete with these lazy-looking dogs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.

Pictured top: Robert Laurent, 1890 France–1970 USA, Sleeping Dog, 1920, crayon and pencil on paper, 17 1/16 x 22 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.

Pictured bottom: William Wegman, born 1943, Untitled (Gallop), 1988, 4 gelatin silver prints on paper mounted on paper, 25 x 45 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.