About the Book
Cats have been beloved and depicted by humans for millennia. These captivating animals appeared as worship statuettes in ancient Egypt, in anthropomorphic illustrations in Victorian England, and, today, in contemporary artwork, on fashion runways, and as social media memes.
Cat celebrates how our feline friends have been depicted in art, popular culture, and history across time and around the world. This vibrantly illustrated book features more than 210 full-page images artfully arranged into playful pairings. Filled with famous artworks, vintage advertisements, classic animations, high-end fashion designs, and more, the book presents a stunning array of imagery, from maneki-neko lucky cats to artists’ pets, and ancient mosaics to contemporary couture.
Readers will find iconic pop-culture characters, including Puss in Boots, the Cheshire Cat, and more; renowned artists, such as Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin, Judy Chicago, and Utagawa Hiroshige; and famed creatives, including street-style photographer Jamel Shabazz and fashion designer Thom Browne.
Balancing style with substance, the book includes a foreword by Hannah Shaw, also known as Kitten Lady, who declares that celebrating the cat in images empathetically connects us to this beloved animal, and an enlightening essay by curator Leïla Jarbouai, who traces humanity’s symbiotic relationship with cats through the lens of art history.
Featuring an elegant and irresistible cover design depicting a curled-up black cat, this charming volume revels in the undeniable appeal of this captivating animal.
About the Authors
Hannah Shaw, also known as Kitten Lady, is an award-winning kitten rescuer and humane educator who has dedicated her life to innovating kitten care and protecting the most vulnerable felines. A New York Times bestselling author of Tiny but Mighty and Cats of the World, Shaw is also the founder of the leading nonprofit for kittens, Orphan Kitten Club.
Leïla Jarbouai is an art historian, writer, and Chief Curator of Graphic Arts and Paintings at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. She is also the author of Cats, a book about cat-focused artworks in the Orsay’s collections.
MEET THE PUBLISHER
Phaidon
Phaidon is the premier global publisher of the creative arts, working with the world’s most influential authors to produce innovative books on art, photography, design, architecture, fashion, food, and travel, and illustrated books for children. Phaidon has a long and distinguished history as an art-book publisher with over 1,500 titles in print.
The company was founded in Vienna in 1923 by Dr Béla Horovitz and Ludwig Goldscheider. Horovitz named the company Phaidon in reference to Phaedo, a Greek philosopher and pupil of Socrates, to acknowledge his love of classical culture. Horovitz created quality books at an affordable price while Goldscheider contributed elegant layouts and handsome production.
The 1970s saw a great expansion in the number of staff employed by Phaidon and the number of titles it published. Like many other publishers at the time, Phaidon diversified into a range of subject areas and began to buy-in titles from publishers abroad. In October 2012, Phaidon came under new ownership and its new senior management team began the task of growing the company for the long term as the world’s leading publisher of books in the visual arts, food, and children’s markets.
Publishing successes in subsequent years expanded the growing art program to include books made in collaboration with the global superstar Rihanna, NIKE, photographer Annie Leibovitz, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, the streetwear brand Supreme, and Cecily Brown, one of many cutting-edge artists in the company’s iconic Contemporary Artists Series. More recently, Phaidon has successfully added interior design to its core publishing categories.
Phaidon’s beautiful illustrated books are treasured worldwide for their outstanding content and award-winning production, and feature the finest creative work from leading innovators in all areas of the arts, architecture, design, photography, interior design, travel, and food.
UK & International Delivery
We offer Royal Mail & courier services for fast UK and International delivery.
