Louis Wain Fact #15:
Although many of Louis Wain’s illustrations are timeless classics, he was also quite a popular illustrator when it came to topical subjects. He had produced fad illustrations relating to World War I, The Harrogate sulphur-water craze, Women’s suffrage, Diabolos, the Japan-British Exhibition, the Ping Pong craze of 1903, and rarely, cat caricatures of contemporary theatre celebrities.
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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.
103. ORIENTAL CAT PATTERN WITH ROUND EYES
Bodycolour on paper
8 7/8" x 6 7/8"
The three bodycolour designs, and to a lesser extent the two in coloured pencil, are reminiscent of late nineteenth century textile designs. Wain's grandfather had been a silk manufacturer, his father was a traveller for a firm of drapers, and his mother designed church fabrics, so this association is probably not fanciful.