A forthcoming movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, The Electrical Lifestyle of Louis Wain, is reviving the status of a popular illustrator known for depictions of cats that captivated Victorian England—and the psychiatric hospital in southeast England in which he spent his afterwards days has mounted an exhibition of his perform to coincide with the film’s release.
The eccentric artist’s feline fascinations are on watch in “Animal Therapy: The Cats of Louis Wain” at Bethlem Museum of the Intellect, which is housed in Bethlem Royal Medical center, the world’s oldest psychiatric clinic, in southeast England. The establishment was a pioneer in recognizing the likely of animal treatment for its patients’ effectively-currently being.
Wain’s drawings were being immensely popular a century ago, appearing in newspapers and children’s books as effectively as on greeting playing cards. When his psychological health and fitness declined in previous age, he was admitted to Springfield Hospital so loyal was his adhering to that when the community learned about his circumstance, he was moved to the “more salubrious” environment of Bethlem (as the healthcare facility describes them), where he ongoing to attract and paint. The exhibition attracts will work from the museum’s holdings, as properly as loans from a non-public collector.
“Animals have generally been acknowledged for their affinity to guy,” explained Kate McCormack, the hospital’s senior dramatherapist, in the push release (which, uncharacteristic of bulletins of museum shows, pronounces it “a gleeful new exhibition”). “At the Bethlem Royal Healthcare facility, the Pets as Treatment application has assisted forge relationships involving company-end users and dogs, notably a Siberian husky named Tess. From giving unconditional affection to aiding in confronting fears and phobias, animals can be a huge component of a person’s restoration and journey to improved mental health. Animals can offer you a incredibly pure and unconditional relationship devoid of calls for or anticipations.”
The movie therapy of the artist’s everyday living, The Electrical Lifestyle of Louis Wain, directed by Will Sharpe, co-starring Claire Foy as Wain’s wife, Emily Richardson, and with voiceover by Olivia Colman, opens on New Year’s Working day. The New York Occasions dubs the movie “the cat’s meow,” describing Cumberbatch as “irresistible” and the script as “garrulous [and] lightly funny,” concluding that the film draws “a deeply human self-portrait.”
See Wain’s work and a movie however in this article.
Louis Wain, Cats’ Xmas (ca. 1935). Courtesy Bethlem Museum of the Head.
Louis Wain, Carol Singing Cats (ca. 1930). Courtesy Bethlem Museum of the Head.
Louis Wain, I Am Content Due to the fact Everyone Enjoys Me (ca. 1928). Courtesy Bethlem Museum of the Brain.
Louis Wain, Sweetness Coyed Appreciate Into its Smile (ca. 1935). Courtesy Bethlem Museum of the Mind.
Louis Wain, Kaleidoscope Cats VI (undated). Courtesy Bethlem Museum of the Head.
Still from The Electrical Lifetime of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy. Courtesy Studio Canal.
“Animal Remedy: The Cats of Louis Wain” is on see at Bethlem Museum of the Intellect as a result of April 13, 2022.
Observe Artnet News on Fb:
Want to keep ahead of the art globe? Subscribe to our publication to get the breaking information, eye-opening interviews, and incisive vital requires that travel the discussion forward.
