Cats in the Mews: February 13, 1889
The presence of a cat at the studio had, by tradition, become considered a necessity to the students and was thought to be productive of good luck in their artistic work.–The New York Times, February 13, 1889
In February 1889, it was not uncommon to see a group of young ladies walking up and down East 23rd Street and all through the Flatiron District — even on the coldest of winter days. The women, who attended classes at the Art Student League of New York, were on a mission. They had to find a good-luck mascot cat that would not disappear from the League’s building on East 23rd Street.
The young ladies’ quest began when Ko-Ko, described as “a fine specimen of the cat family,” disappeared from the building at 143-147 East 23rd Street. Ko-Ko had brought the women good luck, which he did by rubbing against them ever so gently so as not to disturb their drawing and painting. In return for bringing good luck, Ko-Ko was rewarded with dainty bits of chicken, thick cream, and delectable candies.
On the day Ko-Ko went missing, everything went wrong. Many easels overturned, and several paintings were irretrievably spoiled. The artists decided that a new cat was needed at once.
The next day, one of the young women brought a new black and white mottled cat to the building. Everyone welcomed the cat, and they all took turns petting her until her fur was soft as silk. They named her Salmagundi in honor of her mixed markings. (I wonder if they also had the Salmagundi Art Club in mind?)
Hoping that Salmagundi would be a worthy successor to Ko-Ko, the women were no doubt very disappointed when their new cat died two days later (she reportedly took ill after looking at one girl’s crayon drawings in the life class.)
The following day, another woman came to class with a tiny kitten. The women did not lavish this new pet–who immediately took to chewing on their crayons–but it was thought that anything was better than nothing. Alas, about two days later, the unnamed kitten also disappeared.
From that day on, the girls would take turns sneaking into the building with a new cat and a bottle of milk under their coats. But one by one, the cats would disappear.
The women thought the building’s janitor may have had something to do with the cats’ disappearance, but he was in fact greatly troubled by it, and even spent hours trying to figure out why the cats were leaving. Eventually, the girls decided the live models were guilty of stealing the cats and taking them to their homes.
On February 13, 1889, The New York Times reported that the women were now determined to find “a grand, beautiful animal,” which they would safely secure at night before leaving the studio. They would charge the janitor with keeping watch over this new cat while they were away. It was also suggested that a grand prize be awarded to student who presented the best cat.
A Brief History of the Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York was founded in 1875; the first classes took place on September 15 of that year. The organization comprised mostly young women who had been students at the National Academy of Design in New York City.
The League’s first school occupied a small a half-room on the top floor of a building located at 108 Fifth Avenue near 16th Street (later, they had full run of the top floor). In 1882, with an enrollment of about 500 students, the popular organization relocated to a much larger space on the top three floors of 38 West 14th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
Two years later, on October 3, 1887, the League moved to 143-147 East 23rd Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues, in the Flatiron District. This site had been the former case- and key-making factory of piano manufacturer Sohmer & Co., and, before that, the factory of reed organ manufacturers Carhart & Needham. Just next door, at #141, was a large, five-story brick livery stable that housed a “thespian horse stable” called “The Quadrupedal Academy of the Drama.”
The East 23rd Street relocation was directed by League president Charles Rollinson Lamb, who would later design the Dewey Arch at 24th Street and Fifth Avenue. Renowned American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens was one the League’s leading instructors at this location, and novelist Stephen Crane reportedly wrote The Red Badge of Courage here.
In 1892, the League moved into its final home at 215 West 57th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Broadway. As The New York Times reported, “Three stories of the building are occupied by the League and fitted with the finest and most completely appointed, best ventilated and lighted classrooms and studios devoted exclusively to art instruction in the world.”
I do not know if the women artists brought any cats with them when they moved to 57th Street.
In 1927, the League’s former location on East 23rd Street was replaced by a 22-story, 600-unit single-room-occupancy hotel known as the Hotel Kenmore Hall. Prized for its desirable address near Gramercy Park, reasonable rates, and fine amenities such as a pool and roof garden, the hotel always had a long waiting list for vacancies (even though the rooms had communal bathrooms in the hallways!).
Kenmore Hall steadily declined during the last three decades of the 20th century, becoming a dilapidated center of illegal activities until the United States Marshall Service seized the building in 1994 in what was described as the largest asset forfeiture action ever undertaken by the federal government.
A few years later, the building underwent a $34 million renovation and conversion. Today the old hotel has 326 affordable housing units for people coming out of the city’s shelter system, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and homeless veterans.
I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling cats are not permitted at Kenmore Hall (although maybe one of the shops on the ground floor has a feline mascot).
