Woozle Wednesday has rolled around again, and the dogs (and a few pooties and other critter friends) are here to welcome you to our furry corner of DKOS.
Last week, the woozles took the day off and the pooties stepped in with an all-pootie kitten-kaboodle extravaganza of Louis Wain cat illustrations. Yes, the popular British Victorian & Edwardian-era illustrator was obsessed with cats. And it is for his quirky anthropomorphized cats that he is best remembered. So, of course he fits right in with the pootie-loving Peeps.
Now I also love cats, but being a woozle person, it just somehow doesn’t seem fair. So I went searching. It turns out that Wain did draw some dogs, just not nearly as many as cats. Unlike the cats, he seems to have devoted only a handful of entire picture book to dogs. I doubt that Wain totally disliked dogs, although he certainly didn’t rate them as highly as cats. He drew dogs when a client requested them. Dogs simply weren’t the animal that inspired him to flights of fancy.
Wain’s first dog illustrations were more often straight-forward depictions, usually representing a popular breed or the entrants in a particular dog show. Bulldogs feature prominently, especially in his early work, which is understandable being the English national icon.
When dogs do figure in his cartoon-style illustrations, they are more likely to be a minor element in the fantastic cat world. In Wain’s CatLand, dogs generally play the same role that they do in human society: dogs show up as naughty pets, or they might pull a cart, or they chase other animals. When dogs appear as characters alongside cats, the dogs are often portrayed as rascals or even villains. They are the bain of the cats and often cause havoc in the neighborhood.
In Wain’s most productive years of the 1890s to the 1910s, dogs begin to be treated a bit more generously. And on rare instances, dogs are equal members of CatLand society — sometimes even friends! Perhaps dog fanciers made the request of the popular artist?
I was able to ferret out some fun dog illustrations. So, as promised, tonight we take a walk through Wain’s mythical DogLand. Perhaps not as populated as CatLand, but fun nonetheless.
But before we trace the evolution of Wain dogs, we pause for a word from our sponsor as requested by the Management:
Now, on to the blog below the fold!
Meet the Louis Wain Woozles
Everyone is ready to enjoy the rest of the summer, pooties and woozles alike. So kick off your shoes and wiggle your toes in the warm sand or the cool water and relax.
The conversation is now open.