And so, I bring to you some of the best works of this century and past ones! (Taxidermy not included).
Paintings
The majestic and emotive artworks of Tokuhiro Kawai can only be described as mystical realism. One of the best of which is a series spread over the course of four years called "Cats with Crowns" which includes Idea of a Certain Cat (2004), Tame Cat's Optical Illusion (2006) and Smolder Thinking (2008).
Idea of a Certain Cat (2004)
Tame Cat's Optical Illusion (2006)
Smolder Thinking (2008)
Aside from this, the artist has done other pieces as well involving cats, such as the one pictured below.
Harbinger of Storm (2004)
And one of my favorites as well as the above is the very amusing 'portrait' which I roughly translated to be "Cat Which Seems To Put On Boots" (perhaps a reference to the old Mother Goose story).
This is the actual title: 長靴を履いていると思われる猫 (2007)
Another distinguished painter is Eldar Zakirov of Uzbekistan, who was commissioned by Heritage Magazine to digitally produce stylized portraits of cats in a historically Renaissance-esque style. The most pleasing part of this is that he offers prints through deviantart.com. Here are a couple samples.
Regal, are they not?
But there are so many other artists who have included cats or featured them prominently in their artworks. Consider older ones, like Renoir’s Woman With a Cat c. 1875 (and Fernand Léger's painting of the same title) and Julie Manet with Cat c. 1887, the detail of a cat in Manet’s Olympia c. 1863 and a painting featuring his pet Zizi Woman With a Cat c. 1880, Jean-Babtiste-Simeon Chardin’s The Ray c. 1728, and Théophile Steinlen's 1896 poster. Artist Louis Wain, who painted psychedelic images of cats (which, reportedly, was a style influenced by his schizophrenia), imaginative, New Yorker-cover-esque scenes of cats and their company by Matte Stephens, street art cats by Christian Guemy, and Sara Pulver’s Cat N Crow series. There are also older Japanese paintings featuring calico cats and other breeds as well. Cats, guys. Cats are awesome. And this is only a brief list of everything that's out there!
Sculptures
In terms of this art genre, it can be difficult to find decent cat art. There are, of course, the Lucky Cat (Maneki-neko) dolls, often sold in Chinese restaurants, and occasional lawn and garden decorations, but outside of that, not much has been unearthed and marketed widely at affordable prices. Ebay, however, has proved the best place to find amazing cat sculptures.
Art Deco style pieces, perhaps, are some of the best finds. Take for example the ones made by DeWitt from the 1960's of a very smooth, simplistic design.
It almost looks like an Oscar, but for cats.
What's great about sculptures, though, is that they can be made from pretty much any kind of material (including recyclables) and every process of crafting is different. Take, for example, blown glass. Having been to Lotton Art Glass Co. once years ago for a behind-the-scenes look at how it works, I can say it's one of the coolest mediums. Because it's dangerous and magical. Just watch!
Artist Oki Yasunobu is noteworthy as well, for his cat expertise. He makes made-to-order Kokeshi dolls which, historically, were only made to look like humans. They're really neat. No limbs or outlying parts are allowed, so the artist has to paint on the details. It has to be completely smooth. There are even competitions for Kokeshi designs now in Japan.
Kokeshi Cats
To have one made in the likeness of your feline, the artist asks that photos be sent to him. Standard delivery, according to their website, is three weeks after pictures are received, but I believe it could be faster if pre-made ones are ordered.
The last sculptor I can think to fit here would be the Etsy seller Maid of Clay (semi-secretly known in real life as Felicia Nelson) who works primarily in pottery. She has a whole section for 'cat lovers,' and it's interesting to see what she's...exaggerated, if you will, in terms of the cats' features.
But really, a lot of her work is practical and attractive. Like the 'Yarn Bowl.'
She also does what appear to be soap dishes, teapots, plain ol' figurines, and plates.
10/10 would eat Sushi off of.
