If you’ve lived in Chicago for any length of time, the bankruptcy attorney’s name “Peter Francis Geraci” will sound extra familiar to you. He’s been a staple on television commercials for decades, with retro advertisements asking questions like, “Do you need a good lawyer?” coupled with phrases like “thankruptcy” and “take your debt stress away.”
So when Allison Johnson, the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society‘s manager of special events and memorable experiences, got the chance to make a portrait of a cat named Peter Francis Geraci, she jumped at the chance. It was for a new fundraiser held by the Society called Pet Portraits. Chicagoans can make a $25 donation, send in a picture of their pet, and get a custom portrait in return.
The catch is that the artists range in age from 7 to 74, and the skill level can be anywhere from beginner to professional.
It Started During the Pandemic
After the pandemic forced the Society to cancel its largest annual fundraiser, Bark in the Park, in 2020, organizers saw that the Wisconsin Humane Society was offering “bad” pet portraits in exchange for a donation, and figured they could run something similar. The quirky idea quickly took on a life of its own.
“Our goal was 500 [donations],” Johnson said. “When it was all said and done last year, we had 1,498 pets to draw. We were shocked.”
How It Works
In order to get a portrait of your pet, when the fundraiser is live—this past year it was held July 11-18—you first have to make a donation. Then, you email a photo of your pet along with their name and anything you want to mention about them to the Anti-Cruelty Society. Johnson puts your name into a spreadsheet and matches you with an artist to do your portrait. Once the artist is finished, they take a photo of it and you receive that in an email. Then the physical piece of art is shipped to you.
In 2020, the Anti-Cruelty Society raised just over $41,000. This year, it drew 1,337 pets (and, at the time of publishing, because of the event’s popularity, is not yet finished with the artwork) and raised more than $42,000—thanks to some donors who handed over up to $500 a portrait. The money for each portrait sold goes toward operating costs for adoption and foster programs, pet vaccination clinics, and a program that provides emergency pet boarding.
The Artists
When the Society says the age and skill level of each artist varies, it means it. Staff, including Johnson herself, and other Society volunteers offer their time to do portraits, along with other interested art-minded individuals from the community. Last year, 165 artists participated; this year about 134 signed on.
“The artistic level does not matter because everyone is subjective,” Johnson said. “We try to bill it as, you could get a masterpiece or you could get a more abstract piece. The more abstract ones are the ones that people enjoy the most.”
The media used for the portraits ranges. Anything can be used as long as the finished piece fits in an envelope that can be mailed to the donor.
“We get a lot of digital artists, which is great because we can easily get those prints made and ship them out, and they’re wonderful,” Johnson said, noting that the majority of the amateur artists are staff members. Johnson herself has done more than 100 portraits. “There are people who do chalk art, charcoals, watercolors, acrylics, colored pencils, and even just sometimes pencil sketches.”
One of the artists this year works as a comic book artist, and made portraits to match that style. Another personifies the pets into people based on their name. Another puts pet heads on top of royal outfits, and yet another does every single portrait in a different medium.
“It’s kind of throwing it to the wind and random,” Johnson said. “But that’s the fun of it. You don’t know what you’re going to get. It’s going to be a surprise. But it’s going to be unique to your pet. No one else will have this exact drawing of your pet.”
Further Reading
- Abstract Artist’s Pet Portraits Raise Spirits for Fans and Cash for Shelters
- Meet Pawblo Picasso, the Dog Portrait Artist
- 8 Custom Pet Portraits That Make Amazing Gifts
Images courtesy of The Anti-Cruelty Society