Artists and Their Cats

by Alison Nastasi

Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo . . . so many great artists have shared one very special the companionship of cats. Gathered here for the first time are behind-thescenes stories of more than 50 famous artists and their feline friends. From Salvador Dali's pet ocelot Babou to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's menagerie of cats, including Salt (who was black) and Pepper (who was white), Artists and Their Cats captures these endearing friendships in charming photographs and engaging text, and reveals what creative souls and the animals best known for their independent spirits have in common. In this clever compilation, art aficionados will discover a softer side of their favorite artists, and cat lovers will enjoy a whole new way to celebrate their favorite furry friends.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Cats, Animals, Photography, Biography, History

112 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2015

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a house in a neighborhood of cats. The other day there were eight cats in our back yard. A dog in the house to the right, and then a dog (St Bernard!) in the next house to the right, but lots of cats, all around, and three in this house alone. So we have these cat books in the house all the time, cats and zen, sometimes just collections of cat photographs. This one is worth a few smiles, with short biographies of the artists including what, if anything, they knew about the artists’ relationship with cats (and other animals). Cuteness overload? Maybe. But this book is a hit in this house.

Here’s some in this review:

https://mymodernmet.com/famous-artist...

My faves include that crazy Dali cover; we know Frida Kahlo loved cats, as did Edward Gorey, those photographs made me smile, but the best photographs include ones with Maya Lin, Georgia O’Keefe, Gustav Klimt. That black cat draped over Herbert Tobias’s head.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating to see all the different artists and their 'choice' of cats.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as a Christmas gift. Fun and interesting read. Details about each artist are unique.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, should an ocelot really be on the cover? I liked the little artist bios, but my favorites were obviously where they talked about the cats more and their names, because obviously cat names are important. The best pictures were with the cats being happy and obviously the stars, these were Brian Eno, Georgia O'Keeffe and Helmut Newton. But the best photo and story combo overall goes to John Cocteau, whose cat totally loved the picture too. Now if I just had a cat to snuggle.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunning, completely original "gift" book. It is technically a photography book but anyone who loves cats and artists is going to adore Artists and Their Cats. The selection of artists is varied and well chosen. The photos are magnificent. I only wish it was produced with a dust jacket. It is terrific.

[Cátia Vieira · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to decide whether I should buy this book or not. Thank god I've bought it. Firstly, it's a beautiful book: the colours, the pages, the photographies. And, then, well, then there are cats in it. I loved the introduction and the small texts about each artist. But it was mainly about the photography that is reaaaallyyyy good!

[Peter Wolfley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind every great artist is a great cat . . . or two.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

It all makes sense now. Who knew my artistic inclinations and my love of cats were so interconnected?

[Basmaish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conclusion: cats are great.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nastasi curates an interesting collection of portraits of artists posing with their pet cats or those that happened to wander into the picture while the photographer was taking the picture. With the exception of Babou who is featured on the front cover with his human Salvador Dali, all the felines in the book belong to the species Felis catus. Dali was known to pass off Babou as a large housecat decorated to look like a leopard when they ventured out in public. In fact, Babou was a Colombian ocelot Leopardus pardalis, same family, much the same behavior, but a different, slightly larger species, than the descendants of African or European wildcats that have domesticated Homo sapiens.

Some of my favorite selections from the collection are a color photo of William S. Burroughs holding a calico in his lap, behind him a wall of colorful graffiti and what appears to be a shotgun, a black and white of Andy Warhol and a Siamese, a color of Edward Gorey and his cat staring at the photographer. In both of these last two, the cats bear a striking resemblance to their humans, as does the portrait of Georgia O’Keeffe with a cat perched on her shoulder. My absolute favorite is a sepia of Wanda Gág; the author of Millions of Cats is shown in profile as she looks admiringly at the cat, while the cat stares down the photographer.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first observation is that the print was a lot smaller than I would have liked! That did affect my rating. There were a lot of artists represented, including many with whom I was unfamiliar. The problematic part for me is that some of them didn't seem to be cat lovers especially, and that some entries came across more as "Oh, look, I found a photo of an artist with a cat" rather than how or even if cats influenced their work or life. Also the information was limited both on the importance of some of the lesser known (to me, anyway) entries. It seemed to me that the emphasis was more on quantity than quality of the articles.

So, not bad but just not what I was expecting. Which is on me, not the author.

[Chris Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

No great revelations, but a light, easy and fun read that helps you know your favorite artists a little better and get to know a few more. This book is simple-- one page is a photo of the artist with a cat, and the other page talks about who the artist is and what their history with cats is. You learn Salvadore Dali had an ocelot, but told people it was a regular cat; William S Burroughs wrote about the greatness of love, one of the very last things he wrote, in regard to cats; Ai Wei Wei has over 40 and allows them to do anything they want in his home; and Picasso had one particular cat in his lap almost full time.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artists and their Cats by Alison Nastasi proves that cats inspire creative geniuses. Having a cat steal your chair, take up all of your desk space, rest on top of your head, or sit on your lap will motive you to produce better work. This beautiful photo collection shows famous artists such as Ai Weiwei, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol with their feline overlords. I love it!

https://catoverlord.blogspot.com/2020...

I'm on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/catoverlord...

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would! I wish there would have been more information provided about the accompanying photographs, but what surprised me most was how much I connected with these eccentric cat keepers, across the centuries, nations and occupations. I am very attached to my cat and feel so much more comfortable with him -- and it's not just me!
Also, you HAVE to admire that cover, ONLY SALVADOR DALI, AMIRITE

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the companion to "Writers and their Cats" and I enjoyed it as much. Like writing, making art can be a solitary occupation (not 9-5 faraway from home base) so a feline companion can also act as a muse.
It is fascinating the different types of people who seem to melt like butter when they are around cats. I get that completely - the best company in the world in exchange for laptime, food and constant adoration - on their terms.

[A. L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short blurbs about famous artists who loved their cats, but, surprisingly, I didn't feel the cats had enough of the center stage. It was pretty good, but it felt more like the cats were an excuse to write about the artists. Some of the stories had the cats front and center, but in others the cats were barely a mention. The short blurbs were still interesting with and without the cats.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't exactly say how I rate this book. The pictures of the artists and their were good but I would have prefered to have learnt more about the cats. Very few were given names and it seemed to be more about the artists than the cats.

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative concept for a coffee table book. Was interesting to see photos of artists and their cats(I already knew a lot about a lot of the artists featured so it was nice to see familiar faces) but the short descriptions of each artist focused a lot more on the artist than their cats.

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A present, which is perfect for cat lovers and even more when interested in arts. Intriguing little fun facts about the artists with beautifully chosen of the humans and their loved ones.

[Ziortza Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

No aportar
absolutamente nada pero las fotos son bonitas.

[Emma Schweitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect coffee table/lounge book.

[Ilsaga Rising · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I found like 6 people I need investigate further 😂

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure catnip

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting look at a selection of famous individual who liked cats, possibly because they were kindred spirits.

[Joost · Rating 4 out of 5]

It goes all over the place. Some stories are great, others are terrible. But the photos are marvellous!

[Carlton Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little tribute to the love between eccentric artists and their, in the words of William S. Burroughs, “psychic companions”.

[Jana Misho · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and interesting read with so many of the past 150 years' great and esoteric artists.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amount of black cats I see in this book brings me peace.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A interesting and easy read. A short synopsis of various artists and their cats. Found it interesting to see various artists and their love of cats.