More on dogs playing poker

"The (paintings') sequential narrative follows the same 'players' in the course of a hand of poker," said an auction note from Doyle. "In the first, our main character, the St. Bernard, holds a weak hand as the rest of the crew maintains their best poker faces. In the following scene, we see the St. Bernard raking in the large pot, much to the very obvious dismay of his fellow players."

And the lady who is sometimes referred to as the Great Whore of the Universe in our household, not in a sexual sense, but because she's so successful in appearing everywhere, was of course at the auction...

Comedian Caroline Rhea of Manhattan, who attended the auction, told the New York Daily News that the Coolidge paintings were the highlight of the event.

"It's not the Mona Lisa -- we were joking it's the 'Bona Lisa'," she told the paper.

Rhea is such a publicity hound (pun intended) that she'd attend the opening of a letter.

Link to the CNN story.