A celebration of Louis Wain’s cats at Brent Museum
13 May 2011
Wain, one of Brent's most famous artists, was troubled by financial difficulties and mental illness throughout his life. Although it was once thought that Wain had schizophrenia, it has been suggested more recently that he had Asperger's syndrome and visual agnosia, which might help to explain his obsessive drawing of cats and the intricate patterns of some of his more kaleidoscopic drawings.
The Wellcome Library's Archives and Manuscripts department has contributed two drawings (below) to the exhibition; they originate from the papers of Noel Gordon Harris (1897-1963). Harris was a specialist in psychological medicine and early in his career was appointed to a position at Springfield Mental Hospital, London. At this time Wain was a patient at the hospital (having been admitted in 1924 after bouts of erratic and occasionally violent behaviour), and it is likely that the drawings came into Harris's possession shortly afterwards. Wain often gave away his drawings, which he produced in vast quantities, to friends and acquaintances.
Wain’s caption: “Caught! Keep your mouth shut, and let me open your mind for you.”
Further examples of Wain's cat images are held by the Paintings, Prints and Drawings collection of the Wellcome Library, comprising two 'conventional' humorous images and two 'serious', highly patterned images. In addition, the Wellcome Library has many more sources on patient art and art in mental illness: two notable examples can be found in the archives of Rudolph K. Freudenberg and a soon-to-be-catalogued small collection of Edward Adamson, a pioneer of art therapy.
'Communicating Through Cats: The art and mind of Louis Wain' runs until 29 October 2011 at the Brent Museum, Willesden Green Library Centre, 95 High Road, London NW10 2SF. A series of free exhibition-related events will include a talk by Wain biographer Rodney Dale on 23 June.
Exhibition opening hours
Monday-Saturday: 10.00-16.00
Sundays and bank holidays: closed
Admission is free.
The exhibition consists chiefly of works loaned by the Chris Beetles Gallery and the Bethlem Art and History Collections Trust.
