Watercolour, Sketch of a seated cat, by Gwen John, c.1904-8

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 lit by a strong light from the right which casts a shadow onto the wall behind. The wall is a faded red 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 (used by the artist's estate) and is mounted on a card with a gold, red and green-brown trim.

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, no. 189 as 'Cat sitting up, throwing a shadow on a red background.'

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.

P.15-1946