Craxton’s Cats: A Collection Of Charming Cats

1900’s painter, John Craxton's charming cat paintings are gaining popularity and demand.

NOV 18, 2024

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Before the internet’s obsession with cats, John Craxton, a painter born in 1922, saw a furry feline mid-action and thought that it was a moment worth capturing and thus his whimsical hobby of painting cats in various poses began. Born in London but choosing to travel and live internationally, Craxton’s work wasn’t very popular in the British art scene until his passing in 2009. Though he continued to visit London and exhibit his work regularly during his lifetime, it is only post-humously seeing increased interest and value.

#1 John Craxton painting Two Cats (page 53), 1956

#2 Cats and chair, 1997

#3 Posing cat, 1999

© 2024 John Craxton Not everyone appreciates cats, but John Craxton lived with them on and off his whole life, making him naturally fall in love with their quirky shenanigans. Known for being a figurative painter and a gay man, Craxton had a penchant for painting cats because he claimed that cats were the perfect models. He stated that they were easily coaxed to pose for a picture by giving them a little bit of fish, and voila, a charming new cat painting was born.

#4 Cat stealing fish, 1990s

#5 Dancing cats, 1970s

#6 Cat and mouse under a fig tree, 1957

© 2024 John Craxton Andrew Lambirth met Craxton in the 1990s and found him to be an intelligent, perceptive and informed artist. He was inspired to preserve Craxton’s work for posterity and thus was born the book - Craxton’s Cats (2024).

#7 Cover image: Cat, 1958

#8 John Craxton photographed in London in 2007 by Anne-Katrin Purkiss.

Source: © Anne-Katrin Purkiss

#9 Cat and ball, 2007

© 2024 John Craxton Craxton’s Cats, which could very well be considered to be a cat-alogue of Craxton’s subjects, contains depictions of aggressive, shy, angry and playful cats in various poses. Dancing, sleeping, fighting or chasing mice, fish and birds, these illustrations show the artist’s whimsical obsession with cats.

#10 Cat playing with mouse, 2006

#11 Cat and skull, 2003

#12 Cockerel and cat, 1957

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© Osbourne Samuel Gallery, London[/caption] Craxton, similar to some cats he loved to depict, was considered a little bit odd. He was known to have interpolated his work with his renowned visual and verbal wit. His piece “Marmalade Cat in Mirror” (1994–95), features a panoply of strange cats, one of which is an orange and green spotted cat that’s pawing at itself in a mirror, with just one eye visible. Meanwhile, two of Craxton’s works featured in Lambirth’s book are considered masterpieces. One called “Confrontational Cats” (1977) is an image of two bodies merged in a scrawl of dense black lines while the other, “Cats on a Ladder” (1984) shows one cat seemingly helping another up.

#13 Cat and goldfish, 1975

#14 Smudge begging, 1978

#15 Cat and mouse, 2006/7

© 2024 John Craxton Craxton’s Cats aims to capture the painter's dedication towards our clawed friends. Cats had always been in his life influencing him to draw and paint them from a young age. He eventually graduated to making prints about them, often using them as Christmas cards. Later while living in Greece, he was exposed to the semi-feral local cats that stole food whenever they could. He had a deep understanding and respect towards cats. This is highlighted in his work which aims to showcase the important role cats have in daily life. Source: (All images © 2024 John Craxton; courtesy Thames & Hudson)

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