Louis Wain Fact #47:
Louis Wain had done public displays of his artistry on occasion, but they had not always gone to plan During a 1915 exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall, he was provided flimsy paper that kept tearing under his charcoal. Onlookers of other displays had also remarked on his unintentionally humorous commentary.
Comments
- Reply
On loan from the Bethlem Royal Hospital, catalogued by Patricia Allderidge.
108. GINGER CAT
Coloured pencil on paper
Inscribed on verso: F. Deuxbery, Mr. Louis Wain. Sept 1931
Date: September 1931
10" x 7"
The Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital Health Authority (Guttman-Maclay Collection)
This picture was drawn at Napsbury Hospital where the previous owner, Mr Deuxbery, was one of the nurses who looked after Wain. The background is presumably an example of the 'wallpaper patterns', so-called by the staff of Napsbury: in the early 30s Wain is said to have stopped drawing cats at all for a while, and drawn only these patterns, though he soon returned to cats.