Girl with cat, bronze sculpture by Carl Milles.
Carl Milles was born in Lagga, Sweden, in 1875. In 1897, a friend of his father's, who had made his fortune in Chile, invited him to take over his school. Stopping off in Paris, young Carl Milles stayed for 8 years and never visited Chile.
He spent his money visiting museums and studios, and found his god in sculpture: the immense Rodin.
He lived through some financially difficult years and eventually exhibited at the Salons des Artistes Français in 1900 and 1901, then at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
By this time, Millès had managed to place works with the Paris foundry-publishers Collin and Blot. From 1900 onwards, Millès began to depict everyday subjects. Stolen Kiss and Beggar Woman are typical of this period in the artist's career.
The little girl with a cat we present is in keeping with Millès' taste for simple, touching scenes, and betrays the young Swede's admiration for Auguste Rodin.
The same subject is in the collections of the Musée d'Orsay (inventory number RF 2287)
