It was the cat’s neck that did it

Rose Wylie’s paintings were ‘fun’, in a way. Fun to see her particular take on a film or television programme. And I wanted more than fun from an artist who’s spent her life painting.

I overheard a comment, “It looks naive but you can tell she’s been trained”. How, I wondered, could you tell?  There was a some use of tone to create light and shade.. in the end, what persuaded me was the cat’s neck.

Though the painting, Wylie shows a cat that has just turned its head to look at the woman. We can feel the lack of interest in the cat’s gaze; that cat-stare...