42 CATS. 1 EPIC MASTERPIECE. MEET MY WIFE’S LOVERS
Back in 1891, San Francisco millionaire and ultimate cat mom Kate Birdsall Johnson commissioned what would become the most over-the-top feline portrait in art history. The result? My Wife’s Lovers—a massive, lavish painting of 42 of her favorite cats, many of them regal white angoras. It’s a true monument to cat lady greatness.
A VICTORIAN CASTLE FILLED WITH CATS (AND THEIR OWN STAFF)
Johnson didn’t just love cats—she built a lifestyle around them. At her 40-room estate, Buena Vista Castle, her cats had their own floor and full-time staff. She was also known for her prized horses, dogs, birds, and a fine art collection that rivaled museums. Some say she had 50 cats. Others? Closer to 300.
THE ARTIST HAD NEVER EVEN PAINTED A CAT BEFORE
Carl Kahler was known for painting horses—not Persians. But after three years living at Johnson’s estate, observing her cats and sketching their quirks, he delivered an iconic work. He was paid $5,000 for the commission (about $170,000 today), and it became the defining piece of his career.
GLAMOUR, PERSONALITY, AND A FEW FURRY DIVAS
The finished painting is eight-and-a-half feet wide, weighs over 200 pounds, and showcases cats lounging on silks and Persian rugs like royalty. In the center is Sultan, a rare cat Johnson bought in Paris, and next to him is the blue-eyed Angora known as His Highness. Each cat was posed with the same care you’d give a royal portrait.
THAT TITLE? A JOKE THAT STUCK
“My Wife’s Lovers” sounds like scandal—but it was actually a nickname Johnson’s late husband gave to her cats. He had passed away before the painting was finished, but the name became legend.
THE PAINTING SURVIVED A DEADLY EARTHQUAKE
After Johnson’s death, the painting went to collector Ernest Haquette’s Palace of Art in San Francisco. When the 1906 earthquake hit, it destroyed most of the city—and claimed Kahler’s life. But somehow, this enormous cat painting made it through untouched.
IT WENT ON TOUR AND BECAME A POP CULTURE MOMENT
In the 1940s, My Wife’s Lovers went on a full national tour and showed at Madison Square Garden during a cat show. People were obsessed. Thousands of prints were sold. By 1949, Cat Magazine had officially dubbed it “the world’s greatest painting of cats.”AND YES—IT RECENTLY SOLD FOR NEARLY $1 MILLION In 2016, the painting sold at Sotheby’s for $826,000—more than double its estimate. That’s around $19,667 per cat. Now owned by eclectic collectors John and Heather Mozart, the painting lives in Northern California and continues to trend on social media under tags like #meowsterpiece.
