Cats

Walter Chandoha

Taschen

On a freezing winter’s evening in 1949, the now late Walter Chandoha was walking to his cramped apartment in Queens, New York, when he spotted an abandoned kitten shivering in the snow. He put it in the pocket of his coat to take home to his wife, and little did he know that he had just met the muse that would determine the course of his life. After photographing his new friend obsessively, Chandoha decided to abandon his career in advertising and turn his lens on Loco, as she had been named. These images marked the start of an extraordinary career that spanned seven decades. Long before the viral Youtube videos and #catsofinstagram, Chandoha became king of the cat photo. From advertisements to greetings cards, jigsaw puzzles to pet food packaging, his images have risen to prominence and even inspired artists, including Andy Warhol. And this bound book of his most endearing photographs is catnip for any lover of felines out there who needs an upgrade from memes to a more artistic realm.