World’s Largest Cat Painting Sells for $826,000

A canvas that is believed to be the world’s largest cat painting was auctioned off at Sotheby’s in New York on Monday for $826,000. The enormous composition is titled My Wife’s Lovers and was painted by Austrian artist Carl Kahler around 1893. It weighs 227 pounds, measures 75-inches-by-102-inches and is so large it had to be hung on a specially constructed wall, according to the CBC.

The cats featured in the work of art belong to the painting’s commissioner, Kate Birdsall Johnson. However, only 42 of her 350 felines made the cut for the piece. The cat named Sultan, a $3000 purchase for Johnson, sits in the painting’s center spot.

Cat enthusiasts were entranced by the painting while it was on display at the auction house. “When My Wife’s Lovers first went on exhibit on Friday, two women showed up with folding chairs and just sat and stared at the painting, taking in each different cat and their painted personality” the CBC reported.