Feather Fondue, 1993.
Scented acrylic on colored paper.
73 x 59cm.
The Dr. Pat Morris Trust for the Promotion of Feline Aesthetics, Ascot, UK.

Artist
Rum Tum Tugger, a nine year old longhaired Persian, seldom paints more than once a month but the quality of his work is such that his owners are able to sell several hundred prints of each painting as well as the original. Rum Tum Tugger has twice won the expressionist section at the Esposizione dell'Arte Felino in Milan and in 1994 was selected as "Guest of the President." For the first four years of his life his creativity was mainly confined to impassioned reconstructionist sculptures on appropriated lounge suites and it was not until 1990, when his owners had decorators in, that he discovered the potential of paint as a medium of expression.

Curatorial Notes
Rum Tum Tugger's early paintings used a non-toxic dye as a marking medium, and while this added to the overall lightness of the work and gave it a lyric quality, it tended to obsqure its overall meaning. His use of thicker scented acrylics and pastes in recent years has given his painting a boldness and depth of vision more suited to his strong environmental concerns.

Sent In By: Mrs Helen Corrigan of Belfast, Ireland.

Estimated Value: $25,000. Numbered prints, $750 each. (MONPA)