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Cat artist Louis Wain's links to seaside town

Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge A 1925 Louis Wain picture shows three colourful cartoon cats in top hats with canes performing a song and dance act in suits. Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge
Wain's illustration cat artwork made him into a household name

One of the most unusual and eccentric artists of the late 19th and early 20th Century spent some of his most productive years drawing in a sleepy Kent seaside town.

Louis Wain, famous for his cat artwork, lived for more than 20 years in Westgate-on-Sea where he famously took his cats for walks along the promenade.

He became a household name during his time in the town, and is often credited with changing people's attitudes to cats.

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, a 2021 biographical comedy-drama film starring Benedict Cumberbatch, brought the artist to a whole new generation.

STUDIOCANAL SAS–CHANNEL FOUR A scene from The Electrical Life of Louis Wain with Benedict Cumberbatch (Wain) looking to camera holding a cat next to his wife Emily (Claire Foy) STUDIOCANAL SAS–CHANNEL FOUR
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain was a popular 2021 film

Wain moved from London to Westgate in 1894 at the age of 24, with his mother and five sisters.

They lived at three different addresses in the Thanet community until 1916.

Nick Evans, author and historian, has written about Wain's connections to the town in his book Mayfair by the Sea - The Story of Westgate.

He described Wain as "a familiar and eccentric figure in the town".

Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge Three cats singing. Gouache by Louis Wain, 1925. A marmalade cat and two blue cats, half-length, stand holding orange-covered song- or hymn-books; in the background, flowers, equally lurid in tone.Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge
Wain is often credited with changing people's attitudes to cats

Mr Evans said: "Louis' years in Westgate would prove to be his most productive and celebrated.

"He would be seen dancing along the town's promenade, followed more leisurely by his cats."

According to Mr Evans, the artist had a "lack of business acumen".

He said: "He would try to pay off his debts with cat sketches, to the point where few households of note in the town were without a Louis Wain in their lounge."

A blue plaque on a wall outside a house in Westgate which reads Louis Wain - the cat artist - lived and worked here from 1906 to 1916
Two blue plaques adorn houses in Westgate where Wain lived

Gordon Clarkson lived in one of Wain's houses in Adrian Square in Westgate.

He related how his wife Joy found a genuine, verified Wain pencil drawing on a plaster wall under the wallpaper in 1989.

He said: "Joy was an artist herself and so was really excited.

"I remember it being a fairly manic, spiky looking cat."

Ernest H. Mills/Getty A black and white photo of Louis Wain from the 1890s sat at a desk with a pen and drawing book whilst stroking a cat beside himErnest H. Mills/Getty
Louis Wain lived in Westgate from 1894 until 1916

In 1924, at the age of 63, Wain was certified insane and taken to the paupers' ward of a London hospital.

He was transferred to the famous Bethlem hospital and continued drawing until his death in 1939.

So what is the enduring legacy of the cat artist who loved the Kent seaside?

"Cats had not always been household pets in Britain, having been out of favour since the days of witch-hunting," said Mr Evans.

"Louis Wain changed all that."

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