Wilshire Center

One of the great things about dogs--or more specifically, dog walking--is the way they afford a person who’s basically just nosing around or getting the lay of the land a visible excuse for loitering on a public street with nothing to do. This observation was brought home by “The Dog Show,” an exhibition of photographs of dogs dating from 1865 through the present by 32 prominent photographers. In addition to looking at dogs from every possible angle, the show is a virtual who’s who of photography, including everyone from Eadweard Muybridge and August Sander to Joel Peter Witkin and Diane Arbus. With talents like this at work, the theme has great possibilities, and there’s an entertaining diversity to this show that bounces from formal portraiture and heavily manipulated images to humorous candid shots.

A number of images long celebrated for their brilliance (rather than dog subject matter) are featured, among them several acclaimed works by the exquisite French photographer Robert Doisneau, Robert Frank’s well-known shot of a leaping pooch titled “London,” and Lartique’s vintage picture of a Frenchman flinging his hapless mutt across a narrow river. Exploring standard dog themes, the show features a sprinkling of images of dogs who resemble their owners, dogs with their masters where the bond is so strong that the pictures seem like portraits of married couples, and numerous mischievous dogs. In Robin Schwartz’s “Strays on Car,” we see a pair of blase mutts lounging in an abandoned convertible that they appear to be considering stealing. (Jan Kesner Gallery, 164 N. La Brea Ave., to Dec. 31.)