Louis Wain Fact #63:
While superstitions about cats were still quite common in the Victorian era, Wain’s own eccentric beliefs were purely his own. As a matter of fact, he rejected many of the beliefs commonly held by the public. In a 1901 interview with Great Thoughts he says “No, I do not think that because a cat washes her face it will necessarily be a fine day on the morrow. I think they do that merely to complete an electrical circuit.”
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The Eight 'Kaleidoscope' pictures on loan from the Bethlem Royal Hospital, catalogued by Patricia Allderidge.
General note: These pictures have been shown together in one amount for many years and were presumably arranged like this by Dr Maclay. Although it is known that he found 'some' pictures by Louis Wain in a shop in Camden Hill it is not certain how many of these were included, and nothing is known of their origin or when any of them were painted. The order in which they are seen here is entirely artificial.
107. PATTERN
Coloured pencil and paper
8 7/8" x 6 7/8"
It is debatable whether this pattern is based on a cat at all, though taken in sequence with the preceding one it seem to contain the same rudimentary shapes of ears and eyes.
(This image also appears in the book upside-down. Since there is no obvious discernible image such as a cat, it is up to the viewers interpretation which direction the image should be viewed in)