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Could this be the biggest cat painting in the world?

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Could this be the biggest cat painting in the world?
Photo: Sotheby's

Sotheby's will auction a series of impressive paintings on Tuesday, but few more so than an Austrian artist's "ultimate homage to the beloved cat".

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As part of a series of 19th century European art, a painting by Austrian artist Carl Kahler, entitled "My Wife's Lovers" will go onto the block, with an expected price of between $200,000 and $300,000.

The painting is massive, weighing 227 pounds (103 kg), and standing six feet tall and eight-and-a-half feet wide (178x258 cm).

Polly Satori, head of 19th century European paintings at the auction house, told artnet News: “It's hard not to see it, we're putting it right in the centre of the gallery".

"The picture is so large and so heavy, we had to make a special wall to hang it; when we originally put the painting up on a normal wall, it pulled the nails right out of the wall."

Over 5,000 people have viewed the video showcasing the painting since the auction house posted it last weekend.

“For a 19th century [work], that's extraordinary," said Sartori. “We knew we had a total winner about two months ago, when we had it just leaning up in our cataloguing area, and many of our staffers would take a photograph in front of it and post it on Instagram and we hadn't even posted our press release yet!"

While Sotheby's has yet to put on an all cat art auction, it certainly isn't out of the question, according to Sartori.

“Well you never know," said Sartori. "There's a handful of 19th century artists who painted cats, and we certainly do have collectors who. every time we get a cat picture, come in for them. So, we'll see. We like to do themed shows, so a cat show might be a fun idea."

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