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Gary Erbe was born in New Jersey, rather close to New York and especially Coney Island. Therefore, it is no surprise that this trompe l’oeil painting features a hot dog; a staple of American food.
Erbe paints everyday objects that people can relate to. He hides symbolism in his pieces to convey ideas. You can see symbolism in "76 Special" with the dollar bill attached to the hot dog.
Erbe attached a dollar bill to this hot dog and titled this painting “76 Special” because hot dogs at hot dog stands increased in price to one dollar in the year 1976. Erbe was surprised that hot dogs were becoming so expensive, and used the dollar bill to convey that.