Louis Wain’s Cats
£14.30£33.30 (-57%)
‘Chris Beetles’ book is a joy, an inspiration and as thorough a document into understanding the life and times of Louis Wain as one could hope to read’ – Benedict Cumberbatch
‘Louis Wain invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world’. Broadcast in 1925 by H.G. Wells, these words characteristically foretold the future of the Wain cat which has, once more, become the century’s most recognisable image in cat art. During their heyday, in the time before the First World War, Louis Wain’s cats, dressed as humans, portrayed that stylish Edwardian world having fun: at restaurants and tea parties, going to the Race and the Seaside, celebrating at Christmas and Birthdays, and disporting themselves with exuberant games of tennis, bowls, cricket and football. This is a titillating world of cats at play, uninhibited and slightly dangerous, with most group activities likely to turn into mishap, mayhem and catastrophe. This is Wain’s world, funny, edgy and animated: a whole cat world.
The first comprehensive exhibition of Wain’s work was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1972 and, since then, Louis Wain has steadily become more fashionable, and collected worldwide. This biography contains 300 plates of richness and variety, all of which are reproduced faithfully from the original artwork.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Canongate Books, Main edition (4 Nov. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 256 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1838854703 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1838854706 |
| Dimensions | 25.4 x 3.18 x 25.4 cm |
by Turner
This is a beautiful book for browsing. Funny. A book to take you away from everything for a while. Just need the film to be on Amazon included in Prime.
by Ransen Owen
Well produced and almost the perfect balance between text and images. Good quality reproductions, but what I noticed was missing was even a tiny bit of detail how, in practice, he ended up in an asylum. “Erratic and sometimes violent behaviour” is about all we get.
by Anthony BYe
Nice book and good quality
by Amazon Customer
Will appeal to post card collectors, cat lovers or people interested in the character of LW himself, a sensitive man and his descent into dire mental health issues and the way he was supported by his like minded fans.
by H. C. Merritt
This is the second edition (I already had the first). I collect Louis Wain pictures and this is an invaluable source for material about the quirky artist, usually associated with cats, but who painted and drew many other things as well. This adds to the considerable amount of material in the original edition. Wain was so prolific (and there are so many fakes about) that there probably will never be a full catalogue of his work, but this will remain the standard reference book for some time. It is well researched, clearly written and lavishly illustrated. The quality of its printing is faultless.
by fred 7
Written by someone who has an excellent knowledge of the subject; I had purchased the book; hoping that I might find a clue, to where I might locate a print of a work by Louis Wain, entitled “Firemen Fighting a Fire”; or a similar title. I have only ever seen a copy of this work once and would very much like to purchase a copy for my wife, who retired, some years ago, from a senior clerical position with the Fire Service and still runs a Cat Charity. Any help would be much appreciated,
Alan Burt
by W. A. D.
A beautiful edition of some remarkable drawings and paintings which are infinitely jollier than the life of the artist who created them. At £17 it is a real bargain.
by ALYSON R
An excellent history of the artist’s work including his futurist sculptures which I didn’t know about previously. I was surprised just how thick and heavy the book was when it arrived and it represented very good value for the price.