He has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves.
H.G. Wells
We are obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch. You might know him from record-breaking movies and TV series such as Doctor Strange, Sherlock, or The Imitation Game. One of his sensational works to date is ‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’. The 2021 movie is based on the life of cat artist Louis Wain. But who is Louis Wain, and why is he significant? Well, for one, he built his entire career on cats (not the musical ?).
Louis Wain’s Early Life
Louis Wain was born on 5 August 1860 with a cleft lip and was often sick. His father was a textile tradesman and his mother was a church embroiderer. He was the eldest and the only boy among his five younger sisters. He completed his schooling at St. Joseph’s Academy, Kennington before doing a course at the West London School of Art. Owing to his prowess, he was retained by his alma mater as a teacher.
Louis Wain Art Career
The first Louis Wain original was published in the 1881 Christmas issue of the ‘Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News’. Impressed by his drawing, he was offered a position at the magazine in 1882, which he vehemently agreed to, leaving his position as a teacher. In 1884, he married Emily Richardson, his siblings’ governess. At the time they lived In Hampstead with their cat, Peter. Soon after the marriage Louis Wain’s wife developed breast cancer. Urged by her, he began his career drawing cats for ‘The Illustrated London News’, agricultural and pet shows. Hence, the world was about to witness the magic and colourful world of Louis Wain’s paintings.
By 1886, Louis Wain’s artworks gained notoriety and he was approached by Macmillian to illustrate the children’s book ‘Madame Tabby’s Establishment’. Louis Wain’s original anthropomorphised cat drawings first appeared in the Christmas 1886 issue of ‘The Illustrated London News’ titled ‘A Kitten’s Christmas Party.’ Within its eleven panels, Louis Wain drew 150 cats celebrating Christmas. This drawing solidified his position as an artist and an illustrator. Owing to his expertise in cats, he was elected as the President of the National Cat Club in 1890. By this time, Louis Wain’s cats had taken on more human features.
He wrote a section on domestic cats for Hutchinson’s 1901 book ‘The Living Animals of the World’. Louis Wain’s book, ‘Louis Wain Annual’ was produced between 1901 and 1915. Louis Wain’s prints were extensively reproduced as postcards and used in advertisements. However, by the end of World War I, the demand for his paintings declined sharply. He tried to revive his career, drawing the first ever screen cartoon cat – ‘Pussyfoot’, but to no avail.
Louis Wain Artist Style
Despite making hundreds of paintings and illustrations in a year, Louis Wain never became rich. He sold his paintings cheaply and relinquished the copyright altogether. Another factor that might’ve contributed to this fact is that he supported all of his family, his mother and five unmarried sisters with the commissions from his paintings. Louis Wain’s cat paintings can be found in several mediums including but not limited to watercolour, body colour, pen & ink, chalk & oil, and silverpoint.
Before World War I, Louis Wain’s cats shot to fame, depicting anthropomorphic cats (who borrowed from the typical Edwardian society) at leisure. In a quintessential Louis Wain painting, one would see cats wearing human attire participating in sports, hosting tea parties, smoking cigarettes, celebrating Christmas, and lazing around on the beach. A hallmark of these paintings was the fact that most of these celebrations would end up in an edgy yet funny mishap leading up to mayhem. He even produced ceramic cats in 1914, which are reminiscent of Picasso’s cubism although with futuristic elements.
After his accident in 1914, he was certified insane and admitted to asylums. Despite his illness, he continued to paint and draw. However, his cats were now situated in front or made completely of abstract patterns, evoking a kaleidoscopic effect. Louis Wain’s paintings may be seen as a precursor to psychedelic art. At the time, mental health wasn’t classified hence it became impossible to find if Louis Wain was suffering from schizophrenia, Asperger’s Syndrome, or a completely different ailment.
Image Courtesy – The Collector
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Sub Editor at Abir Pothi
