#cats in art
Cats didn’t need the internet to achieve feline fame.
Our@archivesofamericanart has a new exhibition, “Before Internet Cats: Feline Finds from the Archives of American Art,” which explores how cats are represented in rare documents like sketches and drawings, letters, and photographs from the 19th century through the early 2000s.
We decided to let the cat out of the bag…er, box with this collage postcard sent from fiber artist Lenore Tawney to filmmaker Maryette Charlton. Tawney’s postcards often featured intricate layers of found media and handwritten notes. Animals, especially cats, were a frequent motif.
While we think the whole exhibition is purrfect (we couldn’t help it), here are some of our favorite pieces from the archives:
Georges Mathieu, a French painter, embellished this oversize letter to painter Hedda Sterne. It’s among the cat-themed correspondence from Mathieu that are in Sterne’s papers.
Cats often make ideal studio companions. They serve as sympathetic critics and elegant muses.
In this photo, Pozy the cat watches muralist Edna Reindel work in her California studio. (Pozy is also the subject of the wall mural behind them.)
Photos of artists in their studios enhance our understanding of their stories and their working processes.
Reginald Gammon was known for his evocative portraits of prominent African Americans (and not cats) but in the mid-1960s he illustrated a children’s book that chronicles the friendship between a boy and a bespectacled cat.
Thousands of sketches in the Archives of American Art offer insight into artists’ creative processes. A 1948 sketchbook of watercolor studies by muralist and children’s book illustrator Emily Barto highlights the distinct personalities of several felines—here’s one taking a cat nap.
#BeforeInternetCats is on view through Oct. 29 in the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery (the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery). You can also paw your way through the exhibition online.
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Taguchi Yuka aka田口由花aka Yuka Taguchi (Japanese, b. 1992, Gifu, Japan) - 華と猫 (Flower and Cat), 2017, Paintings: Mineral Pigments on Silk
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Francisco Goya aka Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828, b. Fuendetodos, Spain, d. Bordeaux, France) - Ensayos (Trials) from Los Caprichos, 1799, Etching, Aquatint, Burin on Paper
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#repost @raymieiadevaia Raymie Iadevaia (Los Angeles, California, USA, 1984-). Desert Flowers, 2021, oil and gouache on wood panel. 11 x 14 in. Note the feline representation.
RAYMIE IADEVAIA – THE INTANGIBLE FOREST : HALSEY MCKAY GALLERY
Credit: Cover of 蛮勇 / Ban'yu, a Japanese translation of the novel Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol (Ukrainian-born, 1809-1852). Jushien Tsukahara; Ryusei Shibata. Tokyo: 新声社, Shinseisha, 1903. Originally publshed in Tōkyō nichinichi shinbun, 1895. I am not sure how the featured lion relates to the theme of the novel (related to the aspirations of the Zaporozhian Cossacks). As seen at the 2022 New York Antiquarian Book Fair @abaararebooks.
Identification: Les Chats Sauvages, Twist A St. Tropez, pathe records 45 rpm ep, 1961.
#repost @gltangshuo Tangshuo (Liverpool, England, b. China, 1987-). I am interested in the feline and canine representation in this artist’s work.
#repost @thewaltersartmuseum The Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, Maryland, USA). I am interested in these examples of feline representation in majolica, a type of decorative ceramics common in the late-nineteenth century Anglo-American universe. Thanks to @peterbarberie for the tip and the photos.
#repost @jjmanford JJ Manford (Brooklyn, New York City, USA, b. Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1983-). I am interested in the representation of dogs and cats in Manford’s work.
Credit: Walter Molino (Italy, 1915-1997). “il gatto infuriato”. Thanks to @ansispurins for the tip.
#repost@zadkokar Zad Kokar aka Adrien Coquart (Strasbourg, France, 1988-). I am a fan of the work of this artist and musician, particularly when animal representation is involved.
#repost @uhisachi 中村幸子 aka Sachiko Nakamura (Tokyo, Japan, 1959-). I am a fan of the canine and feline representation in the work of this visual artist.
#repost @namaineko_piena (Japan). I am a fan if this maker of cotton figures, in many cases with feline representation.
#repost @mark_milroy Mark Milroy (New York City, USA, b. Minnesota, USA and raised in Ontario, Canada). First image is Girl with Greyhounds, Oil on Linen, 44 x 42”, 2019. Second is a representation of an ancient feline in the context of the Greek and Ronan galleries at the Metropolitan Museum, New York @metmuseum. Thanks to @nancymargolisgallery for the tip.
#repost @claudiamercadier Claudia Metcadier (France). I do not know much about this artist’s digital work in collage, much less the works of NFTs, but do know that cats are involved.
#repost @mauroagustincruz Mauro Agustin Cruz (Argentina, 1991-). Prudencia, oil on cloth, 60 x 70 cm, 2021. Note the representation of a black cat.
#repost @kaedema_chiko Machiko Fujii (Japan). I am interested in the plentiful feline and canine inspiration in this illustrator’s work.
