Louis Wain Fact #13:
During Wain's early childhood, he had been plagued with terrifying nightmares, 'visions of extraordinary complexity'. These miraculously vanished after he had recovered from scarlet fever some time around the age of ten. Current historians speculate that these visions had a lasting impact on the impressionable young Wain, and perhaps had influenced the intricate illustrations he produced later in life.
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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.
104. ELECTRIC CAT
Bodycolour on paper
8 7/8" x 6 7/8"
Although the jagged lines in this picture are not necessarily an attempt to symbolise an electric current, it may b e significant that Louis Wain held some very strange views on the subject of cats and electricity. As early as 1898, for example, he had expounded the theory that a cat's main object in washing was to complete an electrical circuit, thus generating heat and a pleasing sensation in the fur.