The Parrot and the Cat (Sketch for "Good-Night" by Eleanor Gates) (c. 1905): Art, History and Details

The Parrot and the Cat (Sketch for "Good-Night" by Eleanor Gates) (c. 1905) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Arthur Rackham (British, 1867–1939).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Arthur Rackham was one of the most successful book illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his colored illustrations for luxury editions intended as Christmas gifts. However, Rackham also did some work as a commercial illustrator. He designed ephemera like bookplates and greeting cards, and created illustrations for several magazines. The image associated with this sketch is an example of the later. It was one of six published in the February 1906 issue of Scribner's Magazine accompanying the short story "Buenas Noches" by Eleanor Gates. This sketch shows the tale's two subjects in the same positions and poses as in the finished composition.

Object facts

• Title: The Parrot and the Cat (Sketch for "Good-Night" by Eleanor Gates)
• Date: c. 1905
• Creator attribution: Arthur Rackham (British, 1867–1939)
• Culture: England, late 19th-early 20th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: black ink wash with graphite on paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 26 x 37 cm (10 1/4 x 14 9/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - British
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 1946.158

A detail from the museum

This sketch shows the climax of the story when Loretta the Parrot confronts her enemy, Tomasso the cat, to protect her friend, Tony the canary.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Ralph Perkins in memory of Coburn Haskell

Further reading listed by the museum

• Francis, Henry. "Recent Accessions to the Museum Collections." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 33, no. 9 (November 1946): 167-168.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.