A Christmas Ball at Catville
Artist: Louis Wain · 1909
A Christmas Ball at Catville: high-resolution image, free to copy
The original file is hosted by Wikimedia Commons, available without payment or an account.960 × 541 pixels.
Open high-resolution image on Wikimedia CommonsLouis Wain. Wikimedia Commons.
Free to copy. Reuse terms: Public domain. Image source and credits.
The complete story
The story About 1 minutes to read
Cats dance and play music in a crowded Christmas ballroom. The scene turns Wain's Catville into a complete social world.
The room is packed from floor to ceiling. A band plays on a balcony, couples dance in the centre, and smaller groups talk at the edges. The title at the top of the original sheet has been cropped from this reproduction.
Catville was Wain's name for an imagined cat society. It allowed him to picture cats in shops, theatres, schools and family celebrations.
The image is a comic panorama rather than a single portrait. Its pleasure comes from moving across the crowd and finding one small interaction after another.
The story and its sources
Historical claims are linked to the records below. Close looking and interpretation are identified in the passage notes.
- Passage 1Article text
- Passage 2Article textWikimedia Commons: A Christmas Ball at Catville.png
- Passage 3Article textWikipedia: Louis Wain
- Passage 4Article textWikipedia: Louis Wain
Artist portrait Image credit
Unknown photographer. Image source · Public domain
About the artist
Louis Wain
5 August 1860 to 4 July 1939
Wain was a British illustrator and painter best known for his anthropomorphic cats. Born in Clerkenwell, London, he trained at the West London School of Art and taught at Camberwell before building a career in illustrated papers, children's books and postcards. His cats move through theatres, clubs, shops and family celebrations, and his later patterned images have become some of his most discussed work.
- Born
- 5 August 1860
- Died
- 4 July 1939
- Nationality
- British
- Birthplace
- Clerkenwell, London, England
- Died in
- St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Biography sources
The research & record
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The artwork record
Research catalogue
Catalogue information and detailed research, with references that link to the bibliography.
Identity and catalogue
Link- Title
- A Christmas Ball at Catville
- Artist / attribution
- Louis Wain
- Date
- 1909
- Medium and support
- Printed illustration after a watercolour and ink drawing
- Dimensions
- Not recorded in the source
- Culture / place
- British
- Period
- Victorian and Edwardian illustration
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Subject and iconography
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Visual observation
The room is packed from floor to ceiling. A band plays on a balcony, couples dance in the centre, and smaller groups talk at the edges. The title at the top of the original sheet has been cropped from this reproduction.(Wikimedia Commons: A Christmas Ball at Catville.png, n.d.)
Historical context
LinkRead valuation records and their limitations
The image was published on 5 December 1909. It shows Wain's Catville as a place with its own parties, fashions and orchestra.
Wain's cat world
LinkRead valuation records and their limitations
Catville was Wain's name for an imagined cat society. It allowed him to picture cats in shops, theatres, schools and family celebrations.(Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.)
Reading the image
LinkRead valuation records and their limitations
The image is a comic panorama rather than a single portrait. Its pleasure comes from moving across the crowd and finding one small interaction after another.(Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.)
Details to carry with you
- Published on 5 December 1909
- Printed illustration
- A Christmas ball in Catville
- An orchestra of cats
Bibliography
Sources and further reading
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Source notes updated .
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- 01
Image-record
Wikimedia Commons: A Christmas Ball at Catville.png (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons.
Citation text
- 02
Secondary
Wikipedia: Louis Wain (n.d.). Wikipedia.
Citation text
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