Dog sitting in dog house off to right watching animals in yard in front of him drinking from his water dish. Same title (2004.D03.388 FAC #2709), but it has less animals and the dog is in his dog house off to left in image.
Currier & Ives published six different versions of The Happy Family. In this version, a lively group of farm animals happily mingle with wild and domestic animals. Roosters, chickens and pigs eat their meal along side cats, dogs, rabbits and squirrels. As the nation became more urbanized, a yearning for a simpler life developed. Currier and Ives tapped into this public sentiment by publishing scenes of life in the country. The prints often idealized the activities of farm life in rural America and proved to be extremely popular throughout the 19th century.
