Hlootoo's Art

commandtower-solring-go:

mawoftriskaidekathon:

loppytaffy:

laclefdescoeurs:

My Wife’s Lovers, 1891, Carl Kahler

God I hope I am immortalised by my husband for having 40 cats

Fun facts:

• It cost $5,000 in 1888 to have this painting made, which is more than $120,000 in today’s money.
• I say 1888 because it took three years for Kahler to complete, reportedly because he spent most of the time studying and sketching each cat to get a feel for their personality.
• It was painted for Kate Johnson, the title was her husband’s idea though, proving him the most patient and good-humored husband in the history of crazy cat ladies.
• Speaking of cat ladies, the picture actually contains 42 cats. Or more specifically, Mrs. Johnson’s 42 most favorite cats. She had 350 in total.
• It sold at auction via Sotheby’s a few days ago for over $800,000 dollars, vastly more than its $200,000-$300,000 estimate.
• The buyer is a private collector in California.
• Probably someone who really, really likes cats.
• I mean, really likes cats.

I love that every cat in this picture has a name i dont know. In fact, a name i will never know. Each was loved dearly by someone who knew their names. And now they are immortalised in this painting. Its just so lovely