On the Subject of Cats

Goodness, what a silly thing to write about a cat!

—Beatrice Wood, “Picasso: The Cat Who Had His Nose out of Joint,” 1946

Artists capture cats in many different media, including short stories, poems, and other writings. These writings and related materials highlight the ways in which artists and writers departed from their areas of expertise. John Bradley Storrs, known for his sleek modernist sculptures, wrote a whimsical story about how his cat, Mimi, saved the day. Art historian Elizabeth McCausland wrote serious biographies of American artists, and also drafted a witty book of conversations with her cat, March Lion. These stories represent just a fraction of the Archives’ unpublished writings that can be discovered in the papers of artists, art historians, critics, galleries, and more.