Artist of the Semester

Louis Wain

Louis Wain

Louis Wain was an English artist, born in 1860. His artwork was best known for his anthropomorphised illustrations of cats and kittens. Louis studied at the West London School of Art, and his career began with being an art journalist, illustrating numerous different subjects. However, his cat illustrations was what he eventually became famous for.

From the 1880s until the outbreak of the first world war, the ‘Louis Wain cat’ was very popular. His charming take on cats appeared in a a variety of prints, books, magazines, post-cards and annuals. His cats are found to be engaging in many forms of human activity - from playing cricket to riding bicycles and more.

A number of his charming drawings

Despite his delightful cat drawings Louis Wain’s life was not without hardship. His wife, who helped inspire the cat drawings passed away after three years of marriage, he also suffered with financial hardships and poverty. Additionally, in 1924, he was certified insane and committed to a hospital. He was later rescued from his unpleasant surroundings and transferred to a different hospital thanks to a campaign which was even supported by the prime minister of the day. He passed away in 1939.

His psychedelic abstract artwork later in life when he was battling with mental illness

His artwork exudes joy and playfulness and not only brought cat art into popularity, changing the way many viewed cats, but his pieces are still loved today.

His interesting life and artwork has recently been captured in the biographical movie ‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’. This article only touches on Louis Wain’s life and if you would like to learn more I would recommend the above movie or a good old google.