My Wife's Lovers
 | |
| Artist | Carl Kahler |
|---|---|
| Year | 1891 |
| Dimensions | 180 cm × 260 cm (6 ft × 8.5 ft) |
| Location | Private collection |
My Wife's Lovers is a canvas painting by Austrian artist Carl Kahler (1855-1906) depicting forty-two of American millionairess Kate Birdsall Johnson's cats. The title of the painting was conceived by the millionairess' husband.[1] Measuring 6 ft×8.5 ft, the canvas weighs 227 pounds (103 kg).[2]
Johnson, who owned 350 cats that she housed in her summer house Buena Vista near Sonoma, California, commissioned the painting in 1891.[2] Having never painted a cat before, Kahler spent three years studying cat poses and learning their habits.[1] He reportedly received around $5,000 for the painting.[2] The center of the painting shows her cat Sultan, bought by Johnson during a trip to Paris.[1] Johnson lent the painting for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and in the next year it was acquired by Ernest Haquette for his Palace of Art Salon in San Francisco.[2] While the salon was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the painting survived it.[2] My Wife's Lovers subsequently hung in Frank C. Havens' Piedmont Art Gallery in Piedmont, California, and was later purchased by a couple from Chicago. In November 2015, the painting was sold at Sotheby's to a private California buyer for $826,000.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Emily Saul (November 3, 2015). "World's largest cat painting sells for $826K". New York Post. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "How a Painting of One Woman's 42 Cats Earned More than $820,000 at Auction". Architectural Digest. November 4, 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.