Louis Wain Fact #73:
At the office of the Illustrated London News Almanack, Wain left a drawing (Cat's Concert) In the foreground was an aggressive white kitten, with mouth wide open and ears back. leaning against a wall. The office cat hissed at and disliked the artwork, and when left unattended, attacked and reduced the kitten to pieces on the floor, leaving the rest of the piece intact.
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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.