A really super image of a beautiful tabby cat by one of the keystones of the British Modern Art movement, Philip Wilson Steer. Mr Thomas lived with the artist at Cheyne walk at the turn of the 20th Century. The relationship between artists and their pets has often been recorded through the artist's own work. Notable examples are Hogarth with his Self portrait with his pet pug and Picasso's minimalist depiction of his dachsund "Lump".

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Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in the Impressionist movement in Britain but in time he turned to a more traditional English style, clearly influenced by both John Constable and J. M. W. Turner, and spent more time painting in the countryside rather than on the coast. As a painting tutor at the Slade School of Art for many years he influenced generations of young artists.