Louis Wain Fact #64:
Although Wain’s role in the rise of the household cat as a pet is quite well-known, he was also a supporter of keeping mice as pets, a practice which today is still considered quite odd. In 1899 he wrote an article called “The Mouse Club” on the subject, praising them as “desirable pets.” A lot of the information seems to come from the British Mouse Club which was associated with the cat club Wain was president of; it is unknown if he had any mice himself.
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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.