On yesterday’s post about the 2010 cat calendar from Animals in Color, there were several reader comments comparing Sebastiano’s colorful cats to the work of pop artist Andy Warhol. Well, did you know that Warhol was a huge cat lover? He and his mother, Julia Warhola, both loved cats and had several of their own, all named Sam except for one called Hester.
In the 1950s, before Warhol became famous for his pop art, he worked as an advertising illustrator and graphic artist. During this time he created numerous whimsical drawings of cats. He even created a limited edition artist’s book 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy (that’s not a typo, the d was originally left off “Name” in error, but Warhol liked it and kept the mistake.) Apparently the cats in this book were based on the images of the famous cat photographer Walter Chandoha, not Warhol’s own cats. The original copies of 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy were given by Warhol as gifts to clients and friends (an original sold in May 2006 for $35,000), but it has been republished and used copies can sometimes be found on Amazon.
Reproductions of all the cat images can be found at Allposters.com
for as little as $7.49 US.
Warhol continued to be inspired by cats, creating this cat portraitin the 1970s using his signature Pop Art style.
Warhol’s cats continue to appear on various merchandise, including this 2010 Mini Wall Calendar
January 28th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
I was lucky enough to find his cat posters on craigslist for free! (circa 1991)
January 29th, 2010 at 7:12 am
There’s also a children’s book about Warhol’s cats called “Uncle Andy’s Cats.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112779118
January 29th, 2010 at 7:13 am
LOVE Warhol’s cats…I have several magnets and framed pieces of this collection (prints of course LOL)!
January 29th, 2010 at 7:28 am
Agree….Sebastiano’s cats have a Warholian influence. My first impression upon seeing Sebastiano’s cats was that they were Warhol & Shepard Fairey deconstructed – the originality is in the expressions…..
January 29th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Kate, thank you for this delightful post. I am a huge Andy Warhol fan, and it was really great to see his artwork once more.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Love it! Like I said in yesterday’s post, I collect any Warhol cat related piece. Probably the best item I have is a calendar from a few years ago. I have each month’s illustration framed throughout my house.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:36 am
The best site I have found for used books is alibris.com. I have found many books there that were out of print that I could not find on amazon or for a better price. If anyone is looking for 25 cats name sam I suggest they go there:)
January 29th, 2010 at 11:17 am
I have the Andy Warhol cats address book and I love it!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Thanks, Cathryn!
Who WOULDN’T be inspired by the most gorgeous creatures on the planet –cats? Da Vinci said they were “nature’s masterpieces”; these illustrations of Warholian (?) cats are beauties, especially the golden brown tabby standing tall!
January 29th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Those aew amazing .
I want a few .
Xxoo
Missy
January 29th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
The man was so very talented to say the least. I would love to obtain some of his cat portraits, drawings, sketches. He was just so amazing!!!!
January 30th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Wow! Thanks for the art history lesson! I’m almost embarrassed to say I did not know about Warhol’s cat art…until now.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:00 am
The Andy Cats would make a great addition to my house. I would have a hard time picking which one I want.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:03 am
nice cat art