This One Of A Kind 1891 Cat Painting Has A Strange History To Go With It's High Price Tag

by N/A, 10 years ago | 2 min read

Sotheby's, a globalÂ art business which serves "discerning" clients is about to sell what may be the world's largest cat painting. However, that's not the weird part of the story when you consider it's going for an asking price between $200,000 and $300,000. But, that's not even the weirdest part about this painting when you consider this was created for a woman who owned a neighboring number of cats.

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Okay, so not 200k cats, but according to Sotheby's the original owner Kate Birdsall Johnson owned 350 cats, and that's why she had this 6-by-8.5-foot oil portrait of 42 life-size Angoras and Persians created.

Okay, let's back up for some context. Dating back to the late 19th century San Francisco philanthropist and art collector Johnson had an obsession for her feline friends, and considering she was wealthy she commissioned Austrian immigrant Carl Kahler to paint this furry masterpiece in 1891.

Really though, Johnson was very fond of cats...

How can you remember that many names and faces? 350, all under one roof.

The painting, titled 'My Wife's Lovers' after a nickname given to the hoard of cats that Johnson's husband called it, apparently took years to create.

And was sold in 1893 after Johnson's death. That's just a few years after she had her beloved painting commissionedâ€“how sad.

The reason it is truly an exquisite work of art is because of this explanation:

That's probably because Kahler took three years just to sketch all of the cats before beginning to paint the canvas.

Just to reemphasize how special these cats were to Johnson, here's a little newspaper factoid you should know about the 350 cats in residence:

Essentially, this is more appreciation than the internet has given or will ever give cats. Instagram pictures and other countless galleries and articles don't hold a candle to this woman's adoration for her feline companions.Â

What makes this painting even more special than its quirky backstory is what it has been through: it survived the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco. You can watch a quick overview of the painting's entire story here:

Considering all these backstories, the intricate details and massive size of the painting it's no wonder thatÂ Cat Magazine called it "the worldâ€™s greatest painting of cats" in 1949.

In 2002, Boston's Skinner Auctioneers hosted the world's first all-cat art auction and the painting was up for an asking price of $450,000 to $750,000. It didn't sell back then, but maybe now with a lowered price it'll find a feline loving home, which also appreciates extraordinary art.