Cat Compendium

An in-depth biographical study, rare essays by and about Wain, and 60 of his best-loved illustrations make this a must-have for fans of the cult cat artist

With a wealth of Wain's most famous drawings, as well as rare writings by and about the artist, this is an ideal book for both Wain fans and cat-lovers in general. Louis Wain drew cats: cats playing poker, boxing, playing cricket, and doing almost any human activity. His pictures are widely available today as decorative motifs and popular prints, but in his day, the man dubbed the "Hogarth of cat life" was a celebrity who sold thousands of drawings and paintings to an insatiable public. From humble beginnings, Wain became a hugely successful popular artist, creating the Louis Wain Annual series and the first ever animated cat character, later acknowledged as the inspiration for Mickey Mouse. But after he lost his fortune, he lost his mind. He ended up in a provincial asylum, sketching psychedelic cats that were more fiend-like than feline. When his fate was discovered in 1925, the Royal Family and the Prime Minister joined a national campaign to rescue Wain. The artist never entirely recovered his health, but he was eventually moved to a better home, where he continued to draw and paint almost until his death in 1939.