Cat with a Cigar
Artist: Louis Wain · 1879 (source date)
Cat with a Cigar: high-resolution image, free to copy
The original file is hosted by Wikimedia Commons, available without payment or an account.390 × 578 pixels.
Open high-resolution image on Wikimedia CommonsLouis Wain. Wikimedia Commons.
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The complete story
The story About 2 minutes to read
A cat in a suit holds a cigar, its face caught between swagger and unease. The drawing gives a domestic animal the props of a Victorian man about town.
The cat's body is compact and upright, with a jacket and collar doing most of the social work. The cigar adds a plume of smoke and a knowing expression. The background is plain, so the pose carries the joke.
Wain began publishing cat drawings in the 1880s and soon became one of Britain's most recognisable cat illustrators. This early sheet shows the formula already in place.
The image is a small piece of social comedy. It depends on the contrast between the cat's animal face and the human confidence of the pose.
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: Catwithacigar.jpg
- 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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Identity and catalogue
Link- Title
- Cat with a Cigar
- Artist / attribution
- Louis Wain
- Date
- 1879 (source date)
- Medium and support
- Watercolour and ink on paper
- 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 cat's body is compact and upright, with a jacket and collar doing most of the social work. The cigar adds a plume of smoke and a knowing expression. The background is plain, so the pose carries the joke.(Wikimedia Commons: Catwithacigar.jpg, n.d.)
Historical context
LinkRead valuation records and their limitations
The source records 1879, early in Wain's career. The drawing already shows his habit of giving cats human props and expressions.
Wain's cat world
LinkRead valuation records and their limitations
Wain began publishing cat drawings in the 1880s and soon became one of Britain's most recognisable cat illustrators. This early sheet shows the formula already in place.(Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.)
Reading the image
LinkRead valuation records and their limitations
The image is a small piece of social comedy. It depends on the contrast between the cat's animal face and the human confidence of the pose.(Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.)
Details to carry with you
- The source records 1879
- Watercolour and ink on paper
- A cat in a suit with a cigar
- Signed Louis Wain
Bibliography
Sources and further reading
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Source notes updated .
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- 01
Image-record
Wikimedia Commons: Catwithacigar.jpg (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons.
Citation text
- 02
Secondary
Wikipedia: Louis Wain (n.d.). Wikipedia.
Citation text
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