Cats Have Inspired Artists For Generations: 40 Stunning Examples
Graceful, mysterious, playful, and proud, cats have captured the imagination of artists for centuries. From classical paintings to contemporary illustrations, their elegant forms and expressive personalities continue to appear on canvases, in sculptures, and across modern digital art.
The Instagram page “Cats in Art” celebrates this enduring fascination by curating beautiful feline-inspired works from different eras and styles. Here are some stunning examples that show just how deeply cats have inspired artists through the generations.
#1 “Woman and Cat” by Peter Harskamp
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#2 “Cat at the Window” by Antonio Guzman Capel
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#3 Artwork by Shou Xin
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#4 “Three black cats” by Carl Karhler
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#5 Tocoro Comugi
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#6 “Straight on Till Morning” by Maggie Vandewalle
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#7 “The Couple” by Inessa Morozova
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#8 “Sita And Sarita, Or Young Girl With A Cat” by Cecilia Beaux
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#9 Paintings by Alexandre-François Desportes, France
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#10 “Mother” by Sarah Fox-Davies
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#11 “Mother Cat with her Kittens” by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip
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#12 “The Bachelor’s Party” by Louis Wain, 1939
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#13 Unknown artist, painting from XVII century
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#14 “Her Favourite Pet” by Léon Jean Basile Perrault, 1800s, France
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#15 “Sleeping Girl” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1880, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA
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#16 “Cat and Fish” by Volodymyr Kornev, Ukraine
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#17 “Children with a Cat,” by Dirck Hals, 1631, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA
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#18 “Ankle View with Cat” by Carol Wilson
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#19 “Charming Cat” by Léon Charles Huber
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#20 “Armed and Dangerous,” England, 15th century
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#21 Artwork by Daniel Arthur
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#22 Artwork by Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia
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#23 “Cat in a Summer Meadow by Bruno Liljefors, 1920
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#24 “In the yard” by Olga Kvasha, Ukraine
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#25 “Cats’ Christmas Party” by Louis Wain, 1910
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#26 Artwork by Maya Perez
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#27 “Black Cat and Tomato” by Takahashi Hiroaki, Japan, 1931
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#28 Painting by Vanessa Stockard
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#29 “Cat king,” Germany, 15th century
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#30 “In a Roman Osteria” by Carl Bloch
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#31 “Spring is following the cat” by Volodymyr Kornev, Ukraine
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#32 “Difficult choice” by Ricky Way
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#33 “Night cat” by Dillon Samuelson
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#34 Artwork by Vicky Mount
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#35 “Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog”
by Ammi Phillips, 1830, USA
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#36″Jilt” by Owen Smith, 2012
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#37 Tocoro Comugi
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#38 “Nina with Cats” by Gabriele Munter, 1927
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#39 “Great Cat” by Miroco Machico
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#40 Artwork by Alison Friend
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