And the story behind it!
Clocking in at 227 pounds on a 6 foot by 8.5 foot canvas, the "World's Largest Cat Painting" recently sold at a Sotheby's auction for a staggering $826,000. The painting was so heavy that carpenters had to be called in to build a special wall just to display the painting for the auction.
The painting was originally commissioned in 1891 by a San Francisco millionaire and animal lover named Kate Birdsall Johnson. Johnson dedicated her 3,000 acre summer home to her animal friends, but the true stars were the 350 Persian and Angora cats who lived there, attended by a year-round staff of caretakers. After her death, Johnson left $500,000 in her will to her cats, so that they could live out their lives in comfort.
42 of Johnson's favorite cats are featured in the painting by Carl Kahler, who spent three years painting the feline masterpiece.