The Cat Show
Louis Wain, 1894
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 8 x 10 in, Wrong shape: a 16% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyWain's poster for an 1894 cat exhibition, the cats advertising themselves to the public. He papered London with feline invitations, and this is one of them, restored.
- Maker
- Louis Wain
- Date
- 1894
- Medium of the original
- Poster
- Original held by
- Exhibition poster, 1894
- Credit
- Exhibition poster, 1894 · via Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-01827
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | Wrong shape: a 16% crop |
| 8 x 12 in | 123 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 11 x 14 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 12 x 16 in | 83 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 12 x 18 in | 82 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 16 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 16% crop |
| 16 x 24 in | 61 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 24 in | 55 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 20 x 30 in | 49 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 16% crop |
| 24 x 36 in | 41 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 40 in | 33 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 36 x 48 in | 27 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 40 x 60 in | 24 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,004 x 1,486 px, b-w, sRGB IEC61966-2.1
- Tone
- Darks 9, lights 254 of 255; 9.4% clipped light, 1.1% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 48.05
- Notes
- Pure white on 9% of the image, mostly the sheet itself: it prints as the paper's white
Best in Show
Art has always known who the good ones are.
All 153 pieces from Best in Show
