# Cats at the Play: An Exciting Moment by Louis Wain (1906) Canonical article: https://www.artifact-archive.com/archive/louis-wain-cats-at-the-play-an-exciting-moment - **Painting:** Cats at the Play: An Exciting Moment - **Artist:** Louis Wain - **Date:** 1906 - **Medium:** Colour printed postcard after a drawing by Louis Wain - **Period:** Victorian and Edwardian illustration - **Culture:** British The cat audience reacts to a tense moment, with faces turned and bodies leaning forward. The postcard catches a shared response. ## High-resolution image, free to copy [Cats at the Play: An Exciting Moment by Louis Wain (1906) | Free to copy, high-resolution image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Louis_Wain_Cats_at_the_play_An_exciting_moment.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original) Available image: 960 × 610 pixels. Image credit: Louis Wain, Raphael Tuck & Sons. Wikimedia Commons. Reuse terms: [Public domain](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). [Image source and credits](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_Wain_Cats_at_the_play_An_exciting_moment.jpg). ## The story The image was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons in 1906 as a Tuck Oilette postcard, No. 9396. ## 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 ![Artist portrait of Louis Wain]() Artist portrait. Image credit: Unknown photographer. [Image source](). [Licence: Public domain](). - [Wikipedia: Louis Wain]() - [Wikimedia Commons: Louis Wain]() ## Research and reference record ### Subject and iconography Research section ID: subject. Claim ID: legacy-article-1-1. Evidence: visual_observation. The title tells us what to look for, but the image supplies the evidence: widened eyes, turned heads and cats pressed against the edge of the box. The group is more animated than in the other theatre cards. Source IDs: s1. - [Wikimedia Commons: Louis Wain Cats at the play An exciting moment.jpg, n.d.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_Wain_Cats_at_the_play_An_exciting_moment.jpg) [s1] ### Historical context Research section ID: context. Claim ID: legacy-history. Evidence: article. The image was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons in 1906 as a Tuck Oilette postcard, No. 9396. Source IDs: none linked in the published record. ### Wain's cat world Research section ID: article-notes-2. Claim ID: legacy-article-2-1. Evidence: article. The postcard is part of the same Tuck series. Its title turns a static audience into a narrative moment. Source IDs: s2. - [Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain) [s2] ### Reading the image Research section ID: article-notes-3. Claim ID: legacy-article-3-1. Evidence: article. The image works because the viewer imagines the unseen stage. The cats' reaction is the story. Source IDs: s2. - [Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain) [s2] ### Additional published facts - Published in 1906 - Raphael Tuck & Sons, Tuck Oilette No. 9396 - Colour printed postcard - The audience reacts to an exciting moment ## Sources and literature ### [s1] Wikimedia Commons: Louis Wain Cats at the play An exciting moment.jpg Wikimedia Commons: Louis Wain Cats at the play An exciting moment.jpg (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_Wain_Cats_at_the_play_An_exciting_moment.jpg Publisher: Wikimedia Commons. Type: image-record. URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_Wain_Cats_at_the_play_An_exciting_moment.jpg Authors / editors: Not recorded. Publication year: Not recorded. ### [s2] Wikipedia: Louis Wain Wikipedia: Louis Wain (n.d.). Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain Publisher: Wikipedia. Type: secondary. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain Authors / editors: Not recorded. Publication year: Not recorded. ## Editorial note Metadata follows the Wikimedia Commons file record. The medium and date are not independently verified. ## Coverage and revisions Recorded scope: Not recorded Scope updated on: Not recorded Bibliography entries held: 2. Literature coverage is accumulating. Finding or cataloguing a publication does not mean it has been consulted. A missing consultation status is not recorded. The record does not claim that all literature has been found. Editorial review date: 2026-10-19. ## Product range [Browse ArtifactArchive's current product range](https://www.artifact-archive.com/shop). [This artwork's editions and availability](https://www.artifact-archive.com/archive/louis-wain-cats-at-the-play-an-exciting-moment#prints). 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