Professor Michael Yonan and Dr. Amy Freund (Kleinheinz Endowment for the Arts and Education Endowed Chair in art history at Southern Methodist University) gave a talk on Oct. 23 at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, IA. “Visualizing the Feline in Art” asked “what is it with cats and artists?” Yonan and Freund examined the ubiquitousness of cats in depictions of artists’ studios and in artworks that serve as manifestos of their makers’ techniques of visual representation. They explored some of the most famous examples of this phenomenon, from Leonardo’s cat drawings to social media. 

Their talk was held in conjunction with the Cats! exhibition that is currently on view. 

Yonan and Freund were also interviewd by QC News. Watch “Felines & fine art come together for the Figge’s Scholar Talk: Cats!” here.

Cats are a frequent topic of Prof. Yonan and Prof. Freund’s scholarship. Most recently, they co-authored  “Cats: The Soft Underbelly of the Enlightenment” in Journal18 (Issue 7 Animals (Spring 2019)) which they are now expanding into a book.