A Christmas Ball at Catville
Louis Wain, 1909
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, Wrong shape: a 17% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyA ballroom of cats in full evening dress, mid-waltz, published for Christmas 1909. Catville was Wain's parallel England, and this is its social season at full glitter.
- Maker
- Louis Wain
- Date
- 1909
- Medium of the original
- Periodical illustration
- Original held by
- Newspaper comic supplement, December 1909
- Credit
- Newspaper comic supplement, December 1909 · via Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-01816
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 |
|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 12 x 8 in | 95 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 14 x 11 in | Wrong shape: a 16% crop |
| 16 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 18 x 12 in | 63 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 20 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 24 x 16 in | 47 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 18 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 30 x 20 in | 38 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 36 x 24 in | 31 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 40 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 48 x 36 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 60 x 40 in | 19 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,157 x 766 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 47, lights 236 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 209.59
- Notes
- Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
Best in Show
Art has always known who the good ones are.
All 153 pieces from Best in Show
