A cat has been living side by side with a man for many centuries. During this time, she managed to try on many roles: from a mousetrap assistant to a pet and muse, inspiring creators to create outstanding works of art. Feline images were created by poets, writers, sculptors … Of course, artists who embodied the images of cats on canvas thousands of times did not stand aside. These paintings can be seen in paintings and art galleries, however, countless riches are stored in private collections. We found for you several paintings depicting cats that were sold at auction – and the cost of these works of art is amazing. Apparently, the people who purchased them are true connoisseurs of painting. And cats!
Ian Faith (1611-1661). “Still life with a hare, game, and cat” – $ 221,000
The 17th century Flemish artist Jan Feith is known as the author of excellent still lifes. Carefully structured composition, emphasized attention to detail made Feit’s works very attractive for admirers of painting. Of course, he painted both birds and flowers, but the hunting fame brought him real fame. Painted in 1644, the painting “Still Life with a Hare, Game, and Cat” refers to this particular direction. The plot of the picture is an image of a genre scene: the prey of a hunter and a cat who decided to feast on one of the trophies. The work was sold at Sotheby’s auction for 221 thousand dollars.
Henrietta Ronner-Knip (1821-1909). “Playing Kittens” – $ 429,000
It was such an amount that was paid by an unknown buyer for a painting by Dutch artist Henrietta Ronner-Knip in 2006. The work itself was created in 1898. Obviously, the artist was very fond of animals, since most of her paintings represent an animalistic genre. However, in her youth — and she began to draw at the age of five — she practiced plenty of landscapes and still lifes. Then dogs appeared in her paintings, later, when a cat appeared in the artist’s house, she began to paint with pleasure her pet and her kittens. Known, for example, is also the picture of Ronner-Knip “Curious Kitten”, also sold for a substantial amount of 29 thousand dollars. By the way, the works of Henrietta are even in the collections of the royal families of Portugal and Belgium.
Liu Ye (born in 1964). Meow – $ 601,000
Modern Chinese artist Liu Ye creates paintings that are completely different from the works of classical painters. The plots of his paintings are rather strange; many of them are made in the technique of abstractionism. Among the most expensive creations of Beijing, the master is a painting called “Meow”, depicting a girl and a kitten. The canvas was purchased by an unknown admirer of avant-garde art for 601 thousand dollars.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987). “Cats and Dogs (Broadway)” – $ 701,000
The cult artist of the 20th century and the founding father of commercial pop art also did not ignore cats. It is known that Andy Warhol, whose exhibitions are tremendously successful today, adored cats, especially representatives of the Siamese breed. His house was always full of Siamese, and they all bore the same name – Sam. Of course, the artist often painted his favorites – of course, in his usual manner. These sketches were included in the famous album “25 cats named Sam and one blue cat”, published in 1954. However, the most expensive painting by Andy Warhol was the painting “Cats and Dogs. Broadway “, sold at Sotheby’s for 701 thousand dollars.
Karl Kahler (1855-1906). “My wife’s lovers” – $ 826,000
42 (!) Cats are depicted on the canvas “My wife’s lovers” painted by Austrian artist Karl Kahler at the end of the 19th century. He created this picture on the order of the real “Catwoman” Kate Birdsall Johnson, in the California mansion of which hundreds of cats lived. There is evidence that there were more than 300 whole mustachio-striped, but the honor to go down in history was awarded to “only” 42. Kahler worked on the picture for 3 years. Not only the plot of the picture is impressive, but also its dimensions: 2.6×1.8 m and weight – 100 kg. In 2015, an unknown connoisseur acquired a painting for 826 thousand dollars. By the way, bidding began with half a million, but the desire to find such an unusual masterpiece forced the buyer to make such substantial expenses.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Dora Maar with a Cat – $ 95,200,000
The work of the legendary Picasso “Dora Maar with a cat” is considered to be the most expensive cot in history. The great Spanish-Frenchman wrote it in 1941 and dedicated it to the French artist, who, as you know, was called Dora Maar. This name is well known to fans of Picasso’s talent: Dora was the artist’s lover and muse. He wrote it repeatedly, but the abstractionist work with a cat is one of the most unusual. By the way, they say that Dora actually did not like cats, and in the picture, the animal is depicted as a symbol of the complicated and very stormy relationship between the two artists. “Dora Maar with a Cat” is one of the ten most expensive paintings in the world: it was sold in 2006 for $ 95.2 million.
PS, In conclusion, we want to add only one thing: the fabulous cost of these works, of course, is amazing, but real art, like true love for cats, is priceless!
