Cats in Literature and Art

The Old Gumbie Cat

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;
Her coat is of the tabby kind, with tiger stripes and leopard spots.
All day she sits upon the stair or on the steps or on the mat:
She sits and sits and sits and sits - and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat!

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done,
Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.
And when all the family's in bed and asleep,
She slips down the stairs to the basement to creep.
She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice -
Their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice;
So when she has got them lined up on the matting,
She teaches them music, crocheting and tatting.

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;
Her equal would be hard to find, she likes the warm and sunny spots.
All day she sits beside the hearth or in the sun or on my hat:
She sits and sits and sits and sits - and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat!

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done,
Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.
As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet,
She is sure ist is due to irregular diet
And believing that nothing is done without trying,
She sets straight to work with her baking and frying.
She makes them a mouse-cake of bread and dried peas,
And a beautiful fry of lean bacon and cheese.

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;
The curtain-cord she likes to wind, and tie it into sailor-knots.
She sits upon the window-sill, or anything that's smooth and flat:
She sits and sits and sits and sits - and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat!

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done,
Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.
She thinks that the cockroaches just need employment,
So she's formed, from that lot of disorderly louts,
A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts,
With a purpose in life and a good deed to do -
And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo.

So for Old Gumbie Cats let us now give three cheers -
On whom well-ordered households depend, it appears.


T.S. Elliot

Oh! I think I have a TSEliot cat book, but where? Paintings... can you think of any cats in paintings? I know I have seen them...

Man, I hope Mom doesn't see this question.

Pierre Bonnard had lots of paintings with cats in them....he loved them, I think. I have to go back and take a look at some of my books of art and get back to you, but there are many cats in Japanese woodblock prints.

Joanne, I didn't mean to make short shrift of the Eliot poem, which was very comforting....had to leave because the pasta water was boiling.

Hmm, Vietnamnurse. I have a Bonnard book, but it is in one of a bunch of cartons waiting for me to finish shelves...

Zen Cats

I have a book on old Portuguese blue and white tiles, and there are fascinating cats in them. Some of the tiles date back to the Roman times, and some to when the Moors occupied the land.

And I remember seeing all those cats in Rome, it was actually a litle scary at the time.

Here's a link about (Oz Artist) Norman Lindsay & few of his cats ... A great cat lover, he was! I'm not crazy about the bulk of his artwork but love his book on cats ... Fuzz Buzz won my heart!

http://www.ipacific.net.au/~frankl/cats.htm

Can always tell a cat person. The latest member of the family is already in family art and literature.

Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics

This bood I found at Amazon.com. I tried to get the image of a Chinese painting of a cat that I know is in the Met but they are not featuring there cat paintings and related gift shop trinkets any longer. But they do have some great cat paintings and prints in the collection.

I saw cats at Ostia Antica, the old Roman port...one pure white one stood in the bit of sun available near some stone pieces on the ground and I have photo to remember the moment. There are a lot of roman mosaics there, but I didn't see cats depicted in them..fish though, so hey, where there are fish there may be a cat!

Collette wrote an intriguing little novella caled "The Cat" - about the contest between a man's wife and his cat.

A tour of cats in art during different historical times. Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.delmars.com/kitcats/catsart.htm

Msolga, I didn't want that link to end. I wonder about the reasons for so few cats in being in paintings of some periods. I have tried painting them myself as part of a larger scene, and they are not easy to paint. One shouldn't concentrate on every hair, but on the unique gesture...

The works varied in their ability to tell gesture...that egyptian sitting cat sure nailed it.

Dlowan, I've read about Colette, but not of Colette. I know people and their pets can truly aggravate other people, such as spouses.

Joanne, that link on painting cats was very tempting - and not just the featured book. "Cats in Love" also caught my interest...what a good title!

Just adore that Zen cat!!!!!

Cats are fabulous creatures, and there is a poster somewhere that grabs me for some reason of a black cat looking over its shoulder in a garden.

I really like how cats transcend art through the ages, you might enjoy the Cats In Art
http://www.netserves.com/gallery/catsartx.htm
One of my favorites is the cat at the foot of Adam and Eve but, they are all very lovely. Egyptian cats tend to be a nice form as well.

Quinn, that turns out to be to the same site Msolga linked us to. Great minds think alike at the same time!