Cat artist Louis Wain
Famous cat artist champion lived here.
Location: 41 Brondesbury Road, Willesden
Description: Louis Wain (1860-1939) was born in Clerkenwell where he lived with his mother and five sisters. He studied at the West London School of Art before becoming a teacher and supplementing his income with sketches of animals and country houses published in magazines and newspapers. His cats playing guitar, dancing and serving tea, won him legions of fans across Victorian Britain and elevating the humble cat to cult status.
While he was living here in Willesden supporting his sisters, the market for his pictures declined as the first world war dominated periodicals. His health deteriorated and in 1924 his sisters had him certified insane and admitted to a pauper ward at Springfield Mental Hospital in Tooting.
He continued to produce artworks in the hospital, but despite moves to Bedlam and other hospitals he never recovered enough to leave and following a stroke survived until 1939.
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Famous cat artist champion lived here. |
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