WAIN (Louis):
Kaleidoscope Cats.
Original double-sided gouache watercolor of crazed Felines, circa 1930s.
Measures 7-1/4 x 5 inches, glazed and framed.
Louis WAIN (1860-1939) was an English artist best famous for his anthropomorphized cats – which were highly successful caricatures – most noted for its use in numerous children’s books. The imagery progressed into kaleidoscopic and crazed felines, as his schizophrenia became more advanced while at Bethlem Royal Hospital. His art was part of psychotherapy at the asylum and these later designs are considered a major contribution to psychotic art partly induced by his deteriorating psychosis and pharmaceutical experimentation.
Provenance: These drawings are from the album dispersed at Christie’s South Kensington, January 1997.