Fully Anthropomorphised Cats In Art

Animals in picture books exist on a continuum between fully animal and fully human. To sit at the anthropomorphised end of that spectrum, the animal in question:

  • wears clothes
  • walks around on its hind legs
  • talks
  • displays human-like emotions
  • lives in a house
A vintage New Year's postcard by Helena Maguire showing four cats cooking and baking and wishing 'A Happy New Year to you'
A vintage New Year’s postcard by Helena Maguire showing four cats cooking and baking and wishing ‘A Happy New Year to you’
Carl Robert Arthur Thiele (1860-1936), German painter
Louis William Wain (1860-1939)

Beatrix Potter had a massive influence on illustrators all through the 20th century. Any animal dressed in clothes is a descendent of Beatrix Potter.

Postcard c. 1960s Illustrator Margaret Mary Tempest (1892-1982)
Arthur Thiele
Arthur Thiele
Louis Wain cats flying a plane
Louis Wain
Louis Wain
Christmas Card, Edward Gorey; 1925-2000
Illustrations by ALEXANDRA MASKAEVA 1905-1992, stories of the cat Kuzma based on painting called The Unequal Marriage by Vasily Pukirev
Mainzer Cats - barbershop Artist- Eugen Hartung (or Hurtong), 1897-1973 Alfred Mainzer publishing - founded 1938
Mainzer Cats – barbershop Artist- Eugen Hartung (or Hurtong), 1897-1973 Alfred Mainzer publishing – founded 1938
Eugen Hartung (Swiss)
Louis Wain
Frances Brandage, illustrator Kitty Cat Stories
Helen Jacobs From R. Pollard’s Tiff, Taff and Tuff festive scene of kittens pulling Christmas crackers 1934
The Tea Set From Pietoloet
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

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