Three Black Cats by Carl Kahler - 2nd half of the 19th century - 153 x 112.4 cm private collection Three Black Cats by Carl Kahler - 2nd half of the 19th century - 153 x 112.4 cm private collection

Three Black Cats

Oil on canvas • 153 x 112.4 cm

  • Carl Kahler - 12 September 1856 - 18 April 1906 Carl Kahler

    2nd half of the 19th century

Today is one of the most important days of the year: INTERNATIONAL CAT DAY! 

You may know that most members of our team are cat lovers. Other animals are fine too, but cats have a special place in our hearts. This is also why we love paintings with cats. Here is one for today!

Austrian artist Carl Kahler’s commanding canvas places three oversized black cats at its center, dramatically posed atop an ornate table in a sumptuous interior. Their vivid yellow eyes and penetrating stares confront the viewer head-on, casting us as unwelcome intruders. Presented from three distinct angles—rear left, front and center, and side profile at right—the cats collectively offer a sculptural, 360-degree impression. Scattered books and scrolls hint at a voracious intellectual appetite, while the jewel-studded box, richly embroidered curtain, and bulbous vase suggest more sensuous indulgences.

Celebrated as the most sensational cat painter of his time, Kahler was born in Linz in 1856 and trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He first gained attention for his lively cat portraits in Germany and Austria, later emigrating to Australia and ultimately settling in San Francisco in 1891. There, his uncanny ability to capture feline personality attracted affluent patrons such as Kate Birdsall Johnson. Her commission—My Wife’s Lovers, a grand portrait of 42 life-sized cats—premiered to great acclaim at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and stunned the art market over a century later when it fetched $826,000 at Sotheby’s New York in 2015. You can find this painting among our Animals in Art 50 Postcards Set. 

Tragically, Kahler’s life was cut short in the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which claimed more than 3,000 lives. He was just 49 years old.

P.S. To celebrate our favorite holiday—International Cat Day—we’re offering 15% off our iconic Cats print! It’s our way of sharing a little feline joy with fellow cat lovers. Enjoy!

P.P.S. Are you a fan of art and cats? Take our quiz for cat lovers! Can you get all the answers right?