Concerning Cat Artists 



Mass., and brought him no little fame. He was, and 

 is still, a broker on State Street, Boston, and in his 

 busy life these inimitable cat sketches were but an 

 incident. Mr. Francis is a devoted admirer of all 

 cats, and had for many years loved and studied one 

 cat in particular. It was by accident that he dis- 

 covered his own possibilities in the line of cat drawing, 

 as he began making little pen-and-ink sketches for 

 his own amusement and then for that of his friends. 

 The latter persuaded him to send some of these draw- 

 ings to the St. Nicholas and the Wide-Awake maga- 

 zines, and, rather to his surprise, they were promptly 

 accepted, and the " Francis cats " became famous. 

 Mr. Francis does but little artistic work, nowadays, 

 more important business keeping him well occupied ; 

 besides, he says, he " is not in the mood for it." 



Who does not know Louis Wain's cats.' — that 

 prince of English illustrators. Mr. Wain's home, 

 when not in London, is at Bendigo Lodge, Westgate, 

 Kent. He began his artistic career at nineteen, after 

 a training in the best London schools. He was not a 

 hard worker over his books, but his fondness for 

 nature led him to an artist's career. American Indian 

 stories were his delight, and accounts of the wander- 

 ing outdoor life of our aborigines were instrumental 

 in developing his powers of observation regarding the 

 details of nature. Always fond of dumb animals, he 

 began life by making sketches for sporting papers at 

 agricultural shows all over England. It was his own 



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