Oil on wooden board attached to a beautiful hand carved and gilt frame. Image size excluding the frame is 22 x 37,5 cm. Signed and dated in the lower right hand corner. Coat of arms in the upper left hand corner. Some insignificant surface wear. Varnish a bit cracked. Good color. Wear to frame, possibly incomplete. This piece was once a part of the Cahrl Polowzky Collection formed in the early 1930's. The collection was split up during the final years of the 2nd. WW. and more than fifteen artworks from the Feline Era is believed to have been burned by the Nazis, determined to destroy what they called "entartet kunst", or degenerated art. Somehow this small, but beautiful portrait of the young general Gabriel Kleber managed to escape the destruction of the Germans, and ended up in Sweden as a part of a private collection. The coat of arms featured on this painting is a variety of the Oromys Order symbol. No record shows what significance this variety with the mice diagonally from top left to bottom right has. The Oromys brotherhood (Also know as The Oromys Order) started in the late 1500's as a hunting club, but evolved into a gentleman 's club through the 1600's.

The Oromys Order This blog is by Per Formansen, Manager at the The Norwegian State Gallery of Federal Feline Art. Oil on thick wooden board. 23,7 x 28,5 cm. Three o..clock in the morning, last sunday, my mobile telephone woke me up accompanied by the winding sound of my wife..s expression of dislike of the unpleasant "crazy cat" tune I recently uploaded to my cell. The display showed a long line of numbers instantly telling me this was a call from some foreign country. I managed to kill the obnoxious sound and whispered a "Hello, Formansen speaking" My head pounded of terrible headache from yesterdays party at the The Norwegian State Gallery of Federal Feline Art, and was stung by the over exited voice of my curator colleague Reinert Føhn. "Per, I have made the most extraordinary discovery" He cried. He then told me about the discovery of a collection of art from the Cat Era, probably the most important find since the Kjell O. Dahls street collection found in 1968. In an Old town House in Boston, currently being demolished, a series of small paintings on thick wooden boards was discovered under the wallpaper. All the pieces was apparently portraits with a coat of arms included on the board. Together with the paintings, a few passages from the original diary of Felix Fiigenschou was found. Following the event of the original diary being lost from the National Library, there has been a thorough investigation determined to recover this lost document· So far without any success. However, this section is not from the diary that once belonged to the National Library as the passage was torn out of the book not long after being written. The diary notes tell us about how Fiigenschou got the commission to create a large series of portraits of the members of the Oromys Brotherhood. The Oromys brotherhood (Also know as The Oromys Order) started in the late 1500..s as a hunting club, but evolved into a gentleman..s club through the 1600..s. Fiigenschou was offered a substantial sum of money for taking the commission. During this period, Fielix was facing some serious financial difficulties, making this an offer he could not turn down. However, he had to finish twenty paintings in two weeks! Felix had to acknowledge his student and studio assistant Robin von Gerthe, and let him join in on the task of making the deadline. Gerthe seem to have taken advantage of this situation and managed to get his signature on some of the pieces, very much to Fiigenschou..s dislike. The Oromys Brotherhood did not like anyone to take notes of their existence, and forced Fiigenschou to tear out the pages from his diary, hence the separation of this segment from the rest of the document· The first piece to be presented from this series, is a portrait of Fredric Feline, signed by Robin von Gerthe. This is the first time a signed work by anyone from the circle of Fiigenschou is presented! The first piece to be presented from this series, is a portrait of Fredric Feline, signed by Robin von Gerthe. This is the first time a signed work by anyone from the circle of Fiigenschou is presented! More pieces from this series will be posted soon.

Oil on thin wooden panel. 38 x 47,5 cm. During his short stay in Spain, Felix Fiigenschou accomplished an impressive body of important works, this portrait being a mid sized example of fine craftsmanship. This painting was recently found during a spring cleaning in the storage of The Danish National Heritage Museum, NY. No record has been able to produce any information as to how this piece came in to the possession of the museum. Although the style of the work clearly fits with the series produced in Spain, the facial features of the person portrayed has been attributed to Malene Feline, whom is known from no other work by Felix Fiigenschou. The American art historian Alfred Worthington, who was the first to examine this recently discovered portrait expressed his enthusiasm on the Channel 777- 5 o..clock art news last week: "Instantly, upon taking the first glance at this wonderful warm portrait, my intuition told me this had to be the missing link from the Fiigenschou Series. This portrait is filled with the passion and romance all other female portraits by Felix Fiigenschou lacks." It has for a long time been a well established opinion among ancient cat art experts that all portraits of Malene Feline was destroyed by her husband Fredric Feline following the knowledge of his wife..s love affair with the young artist. However Alfred Worthington wanted to challenge this point of view. In order to put evidence to his theory, Worthington brought the artwork in to the professional healer and psychic, Sarah Clearwater, also know as "Aina" (Call-800-555-CLEAR-31021 -$23 per minute). After a thorough session of canalization, Sarah was able to connect with the ghost of Malene Feline, whom confirmed the fact that she was the person on the painting. Sarah and the ghost of Malene also had the following information personally for the art historian (at only half price of the standard rate): It is likely that this week, romance will once again be the focus of your thoughts, but this time it..s likely to be you who is expecting too much.Take a step back for a moment to consider wether you..re being reasonable or not. A family member will have some useful insights on this matter."

The famous spring sale of Booshmann & Rogers Auctions included some astonishing lots this year. Among the highlights were some previously unrecorded masterpieces from the Cat Era, all to become subject of great interest and aggressive bidding from the floor and some eager overseas bidders online. A Japaneese collector bought four early erotic pieces by the British cat master Thomas Gingerpaw. A lot of speculations followed the entry of a rather large oil on canvas in a contemporary frame signed by Felix Fiigenschou. The piece was condemned by the German expert Cahrl Bruun earlier this year. However, the piece was reinstalled by Sarah Anderson from PICA (Pensylvanian Institute of Cat Art) and the final high bidder was the Norwegian State Gallery of Federal Feline Art. The painting is a second version of the portrait of Holmann Gledenius already in the collection of the Norwegian State Gallery of Federal Feline Art. Please also check our new web gallery: www.statsgalleriet.no

Example from the sketchbook.

Circle of Felix Fiigenschou. Oil on wooden board, 19,5 by 26 cm. excluding the frame. Conducted around 1632. From what we know, reverend Jeremiah Agadanielsen was the clergy in the small town Kvingran in Ytre Fossfjellfjord (Norway). It has been noted that he had the innfortunate habit of simply vanishing without notice for days or weeks, abandoning his post in the church. It is believed that this portrait was conducted by one of the students of Felix Fiigenschou while Agadanielsen was visiting the capital Christiania. This painting was in the former collection of Fossfjellfjord Public Library, but was sold after the closing of this institution. The local activist Agneta Halvorsen, started a campaign to prevent the artcollection from being split and entered into the private market, but she did not succeed. This collection contained some twelve artworks, among them a limited edition print by Vedbjorn Sand purchased in the furniture store Bohus. Some worming to the board. Damages to the surface and to the frame. No restoratons to the board. Minor restoration to the frame. An overall attractive piece.

This is the second portrait of Wilbert Untzendyck that has been discovered this year. Untzendyck was sentenced to death by the Norwegian cat authorities for abusing his position as head of the Royal Torture Chamber in Chritiania (Oslo). He had an identical twin brother living in Holland, and managed to escape from prison while awaiting his sentence, and set his brother up in order to get him executed in his place. This portrait was probably conducted during the time he was awaiting his trial or post mortem (Or more precisely, what was believed to be post mortem).

Signed ÒFiig 31Ó or possibly 32. Oil on board. Contemporary, or slightly later frame. Measures 17 by 21 cm without the frame. Provenance for this piece is from the private collection of Sander Wollman. Condition: Very good with slight cracked varnish and minor restorations to the surface. A rather charming study of a royal lady of young age. Probably a small study for the larger piece, ÒRoyal LadyÓ. This piece was given as a gift from Sander Wollman on his death bed as a last token of love to his grandchild Mathilde, whom had this artwork as her favorite among all the important pieces in her grandfathers vast collection.

By Felix Fiigenschou 1632. Oil on wooden panel. Measuring 22 x 31 cm unframed. Very attractive piece inn good condition complimented with a beautiful contemporary frame. No visible repairs. Some usual cracking to the varnish. Larvald, son of Larsarus Ingurdson Laftehus is mentioned in the Fiigenschou diary and is involved in the events that took place around the events of the well known painting "A Bridal Journey on the Hardanger Fjord". (Please look at the painting section in this folder to view). Formerly in the art collection of the famous Ullandvang Hotel in Hardanger, but was removed during the installation of a huge plastic troll (Made in China) and later sold at an online auction.

Signed "Fiig 1631 or 1632. Oil on wooden board. Contemporary frame. The piece measures 19 x 26 cm unframed. overall good condition. the frame has had some of the ornaments removed and further, at some point and a coat of paint. Minor restorations to the surfaces. Provenance: A grand collection of important artworks were split between the family of Holger and Amenense Hogh Pedersen according to the late couple«s last will. At the closing of this friendly session, after the more valuable pieces were shared among the small crowd, only a few minor paintings remained. Among them, this small study by Felix Fiigenschou, the Norwegian cat and artist. The right toownership of thispaintig turned into a dispute between Dorthea Hogh Pedersen, daughter of Holger and Amenense, and her niese, Samalia Rennesoy. The latter had in her possession a signed document giving her the right to the painting. Dorthea, on the other hand, argued that she was given the promise by her mother that it was to become her posession in the future. As push came to shove, the two clashed into a serious cat fight infront of the shocked members of the family. Dorthea managed to squize her niece hard enough to terminate her short life and ran off with the painting. And vanished in a second, never to come back. The painting was later recovered in a litter bin in Glasgow and later sold at auction. Dorthea is still missing. Dorthea was wearing a yellow sweater and deep blue jeans at the time. If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact Hemseheia Police Office.

Oil on canvas measuring 38 by 41 cm. The large gilt frame not included in size and not showing on the photograph. This piece is surely in the style of the early works as is has the crudeness of the works he produced around 1630 to 1631. However, this painting must be the one Felix is referring to in his diary on the 25th of May. The reason for this obvious step backwards in terms of artistic progression mighty be the product of the high pressure he was working under at that time. As this work has such a significant early style, we have decided to include this work in the "Early Works" section.

Produced in Christiania. Oil on wooden board. Signed and dated 1632. Measures 37 by 48 cm. Rouy Aleander Feline was a weel known fierce criminal, notorious for fraud, burglary, blackmailing, forgery and countless other atrocities of his time. The peak of his criminal career was in 1631, when he took on the State Bank (Norges Statsbank) armed with a knife. his brother Monrad Theo, who was a priest, made numerous attempts to make Rouy Alexander change for a different lifestyle. However nothing could be done to bring him out of his criminal nature and ha was sentenced to death by decapitating. This sentence happend to be conduted at the same time as Felix Fiigenschou was working on a portrait of the poor criminal. Felix, worried about the process of complketeing his artwork, tried hard to make the authorities wait with the execution until after the portrait was finished. However, the date was already set and Rouy lost his cat head before Fiigenschou had closed up the work. Anyway, the creative cat artist Felix had the excellent solution to the problem and sent a letter to the Authorities asked kindly for permission to borrow the head brought to his studio in a tank filled with formalin for a few days. The enquiry was honored with allowance to borrow the head for three week by the head of the forensic department, Franz Zacharias Schalpel.

This early portrait was painted in Holland around 1631. The piece measureѳ 28 by 38 cm excluding a large gilt frame not showing on the image. The work is unsigned and shows the young and desperate artist during one of his hardest moments in his short life. Provenance from several major collections. The most notable of these would be the fact that the piece was given to his unrequited love Suzi Whiscas, who moved to Berlin and brought the painting with her. The painting has been found on a exhibition list from a show on degenerated art by the nazis in Munchen 1637. By chance the painting was not destroyed as was planned, but was given to Heinrich Himlers nephew as a toy. The Painting was purchased soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 by the english collector Geoff Somerset, who came across the piece for a bargain price in a secondhand store.

A very early painting by Felix Fiigenschou. Signed and dated 1630 on the back. In this piece we can clearly see the lack of artistic merit known from the later works. The crude style of this painting is a good measure of just how fast Fiigenschou developed as an artist. We know from the notes in his diary that he fell out with his tutors during his education in Holland upon the question of style and technique. Apparently his master Maarhaar did not take a liking to the thick layers of paint Felix was using on his paintings. This portrait was one of the first he made after his arrival in Holland. It was made from some sketches he made of his aunt Konstanse. Konstanse was initially married to Aron Graalabb in 1625, but after he disappeared on the 23rd of December 1626, she remarried soon after with Theodor Gagnvald Lurifax. They lived not really happily, but never the less, together for six year on the outskirts of Christiania. Then one day all of a sudden, Aron was knocking on the door. Everybody had assumed he was dead, but now the poor Konstanse was pulled between two men whom she was both legally obliged to acknowledge as her husbands. Aron simply explained his six years long absence with the fact that Tomcats sometimes run away for some time. This was in his nature and there was no way around it. So how could this terrible point of honor be settled? Theodor and Aron settled for a worthy closure of the problem and challenged each other to the death in a duel with pistols on thirty feet range. the outcome of this deadly action was that they both fired their weapons simultaneously giving upon each other a lethal wound. Then poor konstanse was left alone as a double widow.

This small drawing is probaly a very rare and early piece made by the kitten Felix at the age of two or three months. The whereabouts or this sketch is unknown today. This is the only child drawing we know of from the hand of Felix Fiigenschou. It was found among the paintings and documents in famous discovery of cat art in Kjell O. Dahls Street in Oslo.

This is one of the most valued small paintings by Fiigenschou. Measuring 24,3 by 30,3 cm and in a superb state of preservation. Sold at Arnhold Launchback Auctions in 1911. Disappeared during the second world war recovered in 1967 and sold at Pace an Pollen Auctions in UK. The painting was then entered by an anonymous consigner. Signed and possibly dated 1633 (?), hence serving as evidence of the theory introduced by Cahrl Riis in 1968 that the last figure in the date is a "3" pushing the date one year after Fiigenschous official date of death. This argument was published in an essay titled "What on earth is this?" printed in the 1960´s magazine for popular science called " Things like this". His essay was met with a harsh reply by professor in dateriology, Lauritz Os, as he claimed that Mr. Riis surely could use a new pair of glasses. The story continues as these two scholars finally clashed together in a fist fight at the 1968 Academic Convention in Trondheim. To make even worse, Cahrl Riis`s daughter married the son of Lauritz Os one year later. We assume that´s one big happy family of eccentric scholars. However, further tests and studies on the paintings by Fiigenschou indicates that the theories launched by Carhl Riis might be correct. Please take a look at the description of the "Equestrian portrait of Duke Gusman of Stadtwalt" for reference to such a test being conducted by PICA. As for the painting, it is still regarded as one of the most adorable portraits of infants that Felix ever produced.

This drawing from the Fiigenschou Sketchbook (1631-1632) is believed to have been a study for the large equestrian portrait of Duke Gusman of Stadtwalt. Although quite similar, there are some small changes Fiigenschou made when approaching the version in oil colors. He removed the maze head from the pole in the right hand of Duke Gusman.

This is another section from the sketchbook. This rare mid 17th. century collection of drawings includes a great variety of studies of cat anatomy.

This lovely, not to say sweat sketch is one of the most valued drawings from the sketchbook. Felix comments in a few lines under the sketch about the difficulty of capturing the gesture of the kitten as it is very difficult to make them sit still. This drawing is probably made around 1632.

This image from Felix Fiigenschou´s sketchbook probably shows a study for a commission for a design. We know little about what this could be, but there are some speculations that indicate it could be something Felix made for The Family of Fredic Feline.