Cat memorial gifts: a gentle way to remember

Ten tender paintings of cats, by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Gainsborough, Liebermann and Courbet, each the masterwork behind a Fable portrait style for remembering a cat.

Cats share our homes in a quiet way. They choose their chair, their patch of sun, their person, and when they are gone the house feels the absence in all those small places.

A portrait gives a cat back its place. The ten paintings below are among the most tender pictures of cats ever made, and each is the masterwork behind one of Fable’s portrait styles. Send a favourite photo of the cat to any of them and you will see a free preview, painted the same way, before deciding anything. Or order the original painting as a print for someone who loved their cat.

1. The Maine Coon

A long-haired brown tabby cat with green eyes sits on a pale blue cloth, facing the viewer.

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, The Maine Coon, Late 19th century. Oil on canvas.

A long-haired tabby sits on a pale blue cloth and looks straight at us with luminous green eyes. Henriëtte Ronner-Knip painted cats for half a century, and this is one of her most dignified portraits: a cat who knows its own worth.

Best photo: your cat sitting up and looking at the camera.

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2. Kitten Lying Down

A long-haired tabby kitten lies at rest on soft drapery, its head turned in profile.

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Kitten Lying Down, 1896. Oil on panel.

A tabby kitten lies resting, its head turned in profile, painted in loose, soft strokes in 1896, when Ronner-Knip was in her seventies. It has the peace of a cat asleep in the sun.

Best photo: your cat resting or asleep.

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3. Kitten Playing with a Jardinière

A fluffy calico kitten leans over the rim of an ornate footed planter and peers inside.

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Kitten Playing with a Jardinière, 1896. Oil on canvas.

A calico kitten climbs onto the rim of a jardinière to see what is inside. It is a portrait of curiosity, for the cat who had to investigate everything.

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4. Kittens at Play

A mother cat watches five kittens scramble over an upholstered chair draped in peach fabric.

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Kittens at Play, 1897. Oil on canvas.

A mother cat keeps watch while her kittens tumble over a chair and an overturned drum. For a family who has lost a cat that came to them as a kitten, it brings back the early days.

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5. Three Black Cats

Three black cats with yellow eyes sit on a gilded table among leather books and papers.

Carl Kahler, Three Black Cats, Late 19th century. Oil on canvas.

Carl Kahler’s three black cats sit on a gilded table among old books like the keepers of a library. It is the style for a black cat who ruled the house.

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6. A Boy with a Cat—Morning

A barefoot boy stands at the edge of a dark wood in morning light, holding a cat.

Thomas Gainsborough, A Boy with a Cat—Morning, 1787. Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

One of Gainsborough’s last paintings, made in 1787, a year before his death: a boy at the edge of a wood in the early morning, with his cat. It is quiet and tender, a picture of a child and his companion.

For: a child and their cat.

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7. An Old Woman with Cat

An older woman sits against a brick wall with a dark cat asleep in her lap.

Max Liebermann, An Old Woman with Cat, 1878. Oil on canvas. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Max Liebermann painted an old woman resting against a brick wall with her cat asleep in her apron. It is a picture of long companionship, for a cat who spent years in someone’s lap.

For: a person with their cat in their lap.

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8. Girl with a White Shawl and a Cat

A young woman with auburn hair, wrapped in a sheer white shawl, holds a sleeping brown and white cat.

Charles Joshua Chaplin, Girl with a White Shawl and a Cat, 1891. Oil on canvas.

Charles Chaplin’s young woman holds her sleeping cat in a white shawl, both of them wrapped in the same soft light. It is a portrait of calm and closeness.

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9. Lady with her Cat

A woman in a white gown and blue shawl sits beside a large fluffy white and orange cat on a table.

Marguerite Gérard, Lady with her Cat, 1837. Oil on canvas.

Marguerite Gérard gives the woman and her cat equal place, side by side. For a cat who was a true companion, it is the portrait of a partnership.

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10. Woman with a Cat

A young woman in a lace bonnet holds a fluffy white cat close against a dark background.

Gustave Courbet, Woman with a Cat, 1864. Oil on canvas. Worcester Art Museum.

Courbet’s young woman holds her white cat against her cheek. It is the most intimate picture here, and the one that most feels like a hug.

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If you are giving a memorial portrait, choose the photo that shows the cat at its most itself: asleep in its favourite spot, or looking straight at the camera with that particular expression. The portrait will do the rest. For more cats in art, see our guide to custom cat portraits.

Questions

What is a thoughtful gift when someone’s cat dies?

A portrait of the cat from a favourite photo. It is personal, it lasts, and it gives the cat a place on the wall. Order it as a print, a canvas or a digital file.

Can I use an old or blurry photo?

Use the sharpest one you have, ideally with the eyes in focus. The style redraws the background, so the setting of the photo does not matter.

Can the portrait show the owner holding the cat?

Yes. Styles after Liebermann’s An Old Woman with Cat, Chaplin’s Girl with a White Shawl and a Cat and Gérard’s Lady with her Cat are made for a person with their cat.

Is there a cost to preview?

No. The preview is free, and you only pay if you order.