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Original Watercolor - Sussex Barn Cat, 1846
Harrison Weir's career as an animal illustrator, which was in excess of 60 years, is without parallel. As the author of Our Cats and All About Them (1889) and the writer of the earliest Standards for show cats, any images drawn by Weir featuring cats are considered of historical significance to cat fanciers worldwide; just as his images of Poultry and his written word on Poultry breeds are considered of exceptional historical value to breeders and judges of Poultry. The image of a Sussex Barn cat, in this case a domestic Tortie Tabby, specifically from this painting dated 1846, is currently the earliest known rendition of a cat recorded from life, by this artist; being only a small portion of an extraordinarily well- executed watercolour, painted when the artist was only 22 years old. The painting predates Weir's decision to mount the first 'organised' cat show at the Crystal Palace in 1871 by 25 years. You can see the artists name and the year of execution on the front of the metal banded pail shown below. The colours are sound, and as vibrant in this piece as the day the painting was completed, which of itself, is exceptional for a piece already well over 170 years old! It remains the aim of The Harrison Weir Collection, to continue to seek out and preserve as many original pieces of Weir's cat related art and renditions of other animals and birds as is humanly possible.
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