An enormous painting featuring 42 cats was auctioned off at Sotheby's in New York for $826,000 on Tuesday -- because everyone knows cats are fancy as sh*t.
The painting, "My Wife’s Lovers," weighs 227 pounds and measures 6 x 8.5 feet. It was commissioned by Kate Birdsall Johnson and painted by artist Carl Kahler in 1893 -- and certainly brings up a colorful array of questions.
San Francisco millionaire Kate Birdsall Johnson might be the greatest #cat enthusiast in US history. In 1891, she commissioned Austrian artist Carl Kahler to create a large-scale painting of 42 of her 350 much-loved cats, which her husband lightheartedly titled ‘My Wife’s Lovers’. Video at link in bio! The work is on view at Sotheby’s #NYC headquarters from 30 October – 2 November, ahead of the 19th Century European Art sale on 3 November. #NationalCatDay #CatsOfInstagram #meow A photo posted by Sotheby's (@sothebys) on Oct 29, 2015 at 9:27am PDT
Johnson reportedly owned 350 cats -- so the impressive piece of artwork represents only a percentage of her beloved pets.
Polly Sartori, the head of 19th century European paintings for Sotheby's in New York, told CBC that one of the most remarkable aspects of the painting is that Kahler sketched each cat individually before combining them all into a single portrait.
"No way did 42 cats sit still to have their portrait painted."