Louis Wain's Cats by Chris Beetles

Louis Wain's Cats by Chris Beetles

'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. With a thoughtful introduction from award winning actor Benedict Cumberbatch, this biography contains 300 plates of richness and variety, all of which are reproduced faithfully from the original artwork.

This book is jointly published by Chris Beetles Ltd and Canongate Books.

Chris Beetles has been the main popularizer of Wain's art and has staged yearly exhibitions since 1983. He is now recognized as the world's leading authority on Louis Wain and is regularly approached by museums, auctions and collectors worldwide to adjudicate on the vast number of forgeries coming onto the market; an inevitable consequence of increasing value on the market. A chapter on Wain forgeries will be written. Chris Beetles is an ex-practicing general practitioner specializing in the diseases of the elderly so he is also uniquely qualified to write the special addendum on art and mental illness. A full book list of Wain's published work completes this valuable and indispensible work which will appeal to both specialist collector and cat enthusiast alike.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781849310260
ISBN 10	1849310262
Title	Louis Wain's Cats
Author	Chris Beetles
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Worth Press Ltd
Year published	2011-08-20
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable