July 10, 1806

George Stubbs (August  25, 1724 to July 10, 1806) is a famous animal artist. He painted horses and cows for prosperous English families. His paintings were like an inventory of wealth, and his style was sober and accurate, as is appropriate from one who documented bourgeois and aristocratic wealth. His painting "A Lion Attacking a Horse," (1770) is not typical according to my argument.  The accuracy of Stubbs' painting was a big component of his popularity, and ties the artist firmly into his 18th century cultural world.  A  sentimental romanticism about animals as pets was not typical of that era. It was pleasant then to find a citation for a kitten Stubbs painted. It is mentioned in The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi. I have copied the portrait below and  it shares certain trademarks of Stubbs' work-- no or few people, and only the necessary landscape to avoid distraction. The painting below is titled "Miss Ann White's Kitten", (1790). This calico is an oil painting on a small canvas, 10" x 12".

We could argue that "sentimentality" is a useless category in referring to felines.