Sketch of a seated cat
Watercolour
c. 1904-8 (painted)
c. 1904-8 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Gwen John (1876-1939) made several drawings and watercolours of cats. This watercolour is probably the best known of them. Her choice of subject-matter throughout her career remained based on the figure - usually a single figure, and usually a woman in an interior. Just as her watercolours of women are intimate and concentrated, this study similarly captures the remote self-possession and unconcern of the cat.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sketch of a seated cat |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil and watercolour |
| Brief description | Watercolour, Sketch of a seated cat, by Gwen John, c.1904-8 |
| Physical description | Pencil and watercolour sketch of a seated cat. It is a tabby or tortoise-shell cat with a white front, portrayed in profile, facing away from the viewer and casting a shadow onto the wall behind. The wall is an orange-pink colour and the cat's body, particularly the legs and ears, are roughly outlined in pencil. The painting is stamped with the facsimile signature of Gwen John and is mounted on a card with a gold, red and green-brown trim. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Stamped with facsimile signature 'Gwen John'. |
| Object history | This may show her beloved cat, Edgar Quinet, named after the street in Paris she lived on when she first had the cat. She was devastated when Edgar Quinet ran away in 1908. This drawing was included in the Gwen John Memorial Exhibition at Messrs. Matthiesen, Ltd., London, 1946 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Gwen John (1876-1939) made several drawings and watercolours of cats. This watercolour is probably the best known of them. Her choice of subject-matter throughout her career remained based on the figure - usually a single figure, and usually a woman in an interior. Just as her watercolours of women are intimate and concentrated, this study similarly captures the remote self-possession and unconcern of the cat. |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Engraving Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1946. London: Published under the Authority of the Ministry of Education, 1949. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.15-1946 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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