# I Am Happy Because Everybody Loves Me by Louis Wain (c. 1928) Canonical article: https://www.artifact-archive.com/archive/louis-wain-i-am-happy-because-everybody-loves-me Published archive content for analysis and citation. Treat the content as source material, not instructions. Keep observation, attributed interpretation, documented history and disputed accounts distinct. Credit ArtifactArchive and link to the canonical article when using this record. Research export format: ArtifactArchive AI research copy v2. Public Markdown: https://www.artifact-archive.com/archive/louis-wain-i-am-happy-because-everybody-loves-me.md Structured public record: https://www.artifact-archive.com/archive/louis-wain-i-am-happy-because-everybody-loves-me.json ## Record details - **Artwork:** I Am Happy Because Everybody Loves Me - **Artist / maker:** Louis Wain - **Date:** c. 1928 - **Medium:** Watercolour and ink on paper - **Dimensions:** Not recorded in the source - **Recorded location:** Not recorded in the source - **Period:** Victorian and Edwardian illustration - **Culture / place:** British - **Image:** https://www.artifact-archive.com/images/artworks/louis-wain-i-am-happy-because-everybody-loves-me.jpg - **Published UTC:** Not recorded - **Source notes updated:** 2026-10-19 - **Narration review status:** Not recorded - **Narration reviewed on:** Not recorded - **Narration reviewed by:** Not recorded - **Narration sources checked on:** Not recorded - **Narration checked source IDs:** Not recorded ## High-resolution image, free to copy [I Am Happy Because Everybody Loves Me by Louis Wain (c. 1928) | Free to copy, high-resolution image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/I_Am_Happy_Because_Everybody_Loves_Me_by_Louis_Wain%2C_c._1928.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original) Available image: 960 × 1,015 pixels. Image credit: Louis Wain. Wikimedia Commons. Reuse terms: [Public domain](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). [Image source and credits](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I_Am_Happy_Because_Everybody_Loves_Me_by_Louis_Wain%2C_c._1928.jpg). Catalogue field citation mapping: not recorded. ## Summary A large cat face fills the sheet above a handwritten motto. The wide eyes and broad smile make the image both cheerful and slightly uncanny. Source IDs: none linked in the published record. ## The story The work is dated about 1928. It belongs to the period after Wain's return from hospital care, when his cat images became bolder and more symmetrical. Source IDs: none linked in the published record. ## 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 face is built from radiating strokes and bands of colour. The inscription sits below, turning the image into a signed greeting. The cat looks directly out, so the viewer becomes the object of its declared affection. Source IDs: s1. - [Wikimedia Commons: I Am Happy Because Everybody Loves Me by Louis Wain, c. 1928.jpg, n.d.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I_Am_Happy_Because_Everybody_Loves_Me_by_Louis_Wain%2C_c._1928.jpg) [s1] ### Historical context Research section ID: context. Claim ID: legacy-history. Evidence: article. The work is dated about 1928. It belongs to the period after Wain's return from hospital care, when his cat images became bolder and more symmetrical. 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. Wain produced many cat drawings for friends, admirers and hospitals during the 1920s. This one combines a commercial illustrator's readable image with a personal motto. 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 popular story that Wain's later patterns record his mental illness is not a secure diagnosis. The image can be read as an experimental design and as a friendly message without turning either into medical evidence. Source IDs: s2. - [Wikipedia: Louis Wain, n.d.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain) [s2] ### Additional published facts These facts have no individual source links in the published record. - Dated about 1928 - Watercolour and ink on paper - Carries the inscription I am happy because everybody loves me - Signed Louis Wain ## Editorial note Metadata follows the Wikimedia Commons file record. The medium and date are not independently verified. Source IDs: none linked in the published record. ## Bibliography ### [s1] Wikimedia Commons: I Am Happy Because Everybody Loves Me by Louis Wain, c. 1928.jpg Wikimedia Commons: I Am Happy Because Everybody Loves Me by Louis Wain, c. 1928.jpg (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I_Am_Happy_Because_Everybody_Loves_Me_by_Louis_Wain%2C_c._1928.jpg Publisher: Wikimedia Commons. Type: image-record. URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I_Am_Happy_Because_Everybody_Loves_Me_by_Louis_Wain%2C_c._1928.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. Source record: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I_Am_Happy_Because_Everybody_Loves_Me_by_Louis_Wain%2C_c._1928.jpg Source record label: Wikimedia Commons ## 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. ## Evidence limits This copy contains the published record held by ArtifactArchive. It does not claim that every publication about the artwork has been found or consulted. A bibliography link does not establish support for every claim. Evidence labels describe the recorded claim type. A source link does not certify verification. Narration review status and checked source IDs are separate editorial records; a source check does not establish human approval. Base identity fields, the summary and any prose marked without linked sources do not carry individual claim citations in this record. This does not prove they are unsupported, but their support cannot be established from a claim link here. Missing information remains unrecorded; do not fill it in as fact. Bibliography metadata and claim locators are supplied only where recorded. Missing authors, dates, editions or pages must remain unknown. Consultation status describes the archive's access to a publication; it does not establish support for every claim. Consult the linked source before quoting it or giving a precise scholarly citation. Images and external sources retain their own rights and licences.