Costumed canines by William Wegman – in pictures

Since the 1970s, the American artist William Wegman has photographed his dogs in a variety of poses; now a collection of his Polaroids is being exhibited in the UK for the first time. The series started with Man Ray, named after the surrealist artist, followed by Fay Ray and several generations of her puppies. All of them are Weimaraners: “As pointer-retrievers, they have an innate ability to hold still and focus,” explains Wegman. All his dogs enjoy the process of posing, he says, but each has a different attitude: “Fay, and now Flo, are very, very serious about working whereas Batty, Fay’s daughter, was blase almost to the point of narcolepsy. Some of my dogs, like Candy, were especially athletic. Chip, Batty’s son, was great with hats.”

William Wegman: Polaroids is at the Huxley-Parlour Gallery, London W1, 26 September-20 October