Cat Paintings Found Near a Dumpster Sold for a High Price

On May 21, 2026, in southwest Wales, two cat paintings by Louis Wain were sold at Rogers Jones Auctioneers for a staggering £16,000! But how did they get their hands on such a valuable piece?

According to , a couple was walking their dog when they noticed two cat paintings next to a dumpster. They thought it would be a nice gift for their daughter-in-law, who was an enthusiastic cat lover.

After the paintings had hung in her house for roughly a year, she decided they did not fit the theme of her decor, and gifted them back to the couple. The paintings hung in their house for a few more years before the couple decided to search up the signature on the back of the paintings. They were shocked to find that Louis Wain, the owner of the signature, was a very well-known artist from Great Britain from around undefined, according to Sky News. The couple got the paintings verified by auctioneer Charles Hampshire, who confirmed that they were indeed original and of high quality.

The two paintings went up for auction at the British & European Fine Arts Auction. “Blue Cat Among the Flowers” was sold for £6600. The other painting, which was a rare double-sided painting featuring “Psychedelic Cats” and “Deer in an Idyllic Landscape“, sold for £9400! The total value smashed the prediction of around £4000 to £6000 for both paintings, partly because of the backstory of how these remarkable paintings were discovered and partly because Louis Wain’s paintings attract bidders globally.