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135 WAIN, Louis. Dancing cats and dogs. [c.1900] Original artwork
A household name and the nation’s favourite animal illustrator, Wain found himself struggling with mental illness during the early 1920s, his somewhat erratic tendencies and unsteady moods worsening until he developed a persecution complex and became suspicious of his family. This led to him being certified insane in 1924 and taken to the paupers’ ward of Springfield Hospital, Tooting (the Middlesex County Asylum). He remained there until his plight was publicized and a fund created for his support. The result was that Wain was transferred to Bethlem Hospital where he was given his own room and supplied with art material. One result was an exhibition of his work at the Twenty One Gallery in 1925. The gallery was known for championing avant-garde artists such as Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and William Nicholson, as well as Jacob Epstein and Graham Sutherland. After 15 years spent in psychiatric asylums Wain died, aged 78, in 1939, leaving behind a varied body of work. The controversy and debate surrounding Wain’s diagnosis and its effect on his creative output has ensured that Wain’s art is inextricably intertwined with the history of psychiatry. A biographical film entitled The Electrical Life of Louis Wain , starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Wain, was released in 2021. Original drawing (244 × 177 mm) on paper (247 × 179 mm), laid down on board, watercolour and gouache, unsigned, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 400 × 325 mm). Minor residue and surface abrasions to extremities below mount; fine and bright. ¶ Cynthia Delulio & Elsa Ross, Especially Cats: Louis Wain’s Humorous Postcards , 1985, p. 97. Dawn and Peter Cope, Postcards from the Nursery , 2000. £9,750 [154990]
A fine and detailed original illustration. A popular subject for Wain, dancing cats gained the artist considerable notice with his “A Cat’s Christmas Dance” published in Holly Leaves in 1890. This composition develops the idea and introduces dogs to the event. For the artist, see previous item. Original drawing (238 × 184 mm) on paper, laid down on board, watercolour and gouache, signed (“Louis Wain”) lower right, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 400 × 340 mm). Vibrant and unfaded; fine. £9,750 [154989] 136 WAIN, Louis. “ Who says we’ve ‘Got the Bird?’” [c.1910] A FINE Original artwork: the feigned innocence of five cats A fine example of an inimitable Louis Wain drawing. These five cats, all gazing in different directions, are trying to appear innocent although their culpability is suggested by the title of the drawing. For the artist, see item 134. Original drawing (270 × 370 mm) on card, watercolour and gouache, signed (“Louis Wain”) lower left, with title on reverse, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 430 × 522 mm). Short tear to top edge; fine and unfaded. £12,500 [154991]
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All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
CHILDREN’S BOOKS & ORIGINAL ARTWORK
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