Susan Herbert (1945-2014) was one of the most distinctive and celebrated contemporary cat artists. She studied briefly at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford before starting her working life in the box offices of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (1963-68), the London Coliseum (1968-75) and the Theatre Royal, Bath (1976-78). These positions enabled her to hold foyer exhibitions, which included theatrical portraits and a series of images using mice to tell the story of Wagner’s Ring. Such work led to the development of an anthropomorphic art that placed animals in Old Master, Shakespearean and operatic settings. From Manet's Dejeuner sur L'Herbe to Hals' Laughing Cavalier to Hitchcock movies and Shakespeare plays, Susan Herbert puts a wonderful and humorous slant on Western art and culture. She was the author and illustrator of The Cats Gallery of Art, The Cats History of Western Art, Diary of a Victorian Cat, Medieval Cats, Impressionist Cats, Pre-Raphaelite Cats, Shakespeare Cats, Opera Cats and Movie Cats, all published by Thames & Hudson.