Paws for thought: cat items coming up for sale at auction online
17 May 2024, by Dom Walbanke Items such as Louis Wain’s famous cat drawings are an affordable way to honour our furry friends
Scenes from the Courts by Louis Wain, appearing at Cotswold Auction Company on May 21-22, estimate £3000-5000.
Nobody demonstrated their love for cats quite as much as illustrator Louis Wain (1860-1939), and a set of six of his watercolours will go under the hammer at Cotswold Auction Company on May 21-22.
He started early in his career drawing realistic portraits before moving on to his anthropomorphic illustrations. Scenes from the Courts is an example of the latter, depicting humorous scenes of cats in the guises of judge, plaintiff, barrister and cook. All the prints are offered signed, framed and glazed.
That’s not all on offer for cat lovers, though. Here are some more cat-related items available at online auctions.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) was a German expressionist painter. Here is an ink on paper artwork called Junge Katze c.1910, offered by Van Ham Kunstauktionen in Cologne (estimate €2000-3000).
A Susan Herbert watercolour with a cat acting out Puccini’s opera Tosca Act II, measuring 23.5 x 28cm. On sale at the Cotswold Auction Company with a £200-300 estimate.
An Egyptian bronze cat figure believed to be from c.664-525BC on offer at Mallams for £1000-2000 on May 22.
A signed red cat (oil on timber) by the late Irish painter and sculptor Graham Knuttel (1954-2023) goes on sale on May 21 at Adams in Dublin with an estimate of €2500-3500.
