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Cats in Cartoons at the Cartoon Museum
From Garfield to Simon’s Cat, Krazy Kat to Bagpuss and everything in between, there is a long line of iconic cartoon cats. For the first time The Cartoon Museum is collecting the greatest cats to grace British comics, newspapers and magazines in one to explore why people love cats so much and what cats tell us about life.
The exhibition will feature over 100 cartoons and comics featuring cats, including works by significant and well-known artists such as Louis Wain, Axel Scheffler, Ronald Searle, William Heath Robinson, Simon Tofield, Anthony Smith, Gemma Correll, and Hunt Emerson, and featuring favourite characters including Garfield and Bagpuss. Find out where the term ‘fat cat’ came from, see the crazy contraption Heath Robinson devised so his cat ‘Saturday Morning’ could feed himself, and discover the anarchic anthropomorphic influence of Louis Wain.
Throughout the exhibition we will also explore the work Battersea Dogs and Cats Home does to protect and advocate for the welfare of cats, with interviews with staff taking visitors behind the scenes of their London cattery, which combined with the charities two other centres, benefits over 2000 cats per year. Staff from Battersea will share insight into the essential work they do on a daily basis and their stories from their time at the London centre, as well as highlighting how visitors can get involved in caring for cats themselves.
Cats are a wonderful companion through life, and a favourite pet and muse for many artists. The image of a cat can provide strength and power, and we will delve into the role of cats in artwork about social issues - such as their prevalence in LGBTQ+ pop culture, or as a proxy for greedy business executives. Sometimes cartoons focus on the sillier and more individualist aspects of their character, and artworks featuring the sardonic wit of Garfield, or the trials and tribulations of Simon’s Cat as he looks for more food! Cats illustrate the duality of nature - at times fun and loving, and at times fiercely independent. If you are a cat lover, make sure to join us for this celebration of all things feline in 2025.
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