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VBMA Presents Paw Prints: Cats and the Floating World, a Lecture Offering Views into the Popularity of Cats in Japanese Art on November 7

Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA) welcomes Rhiannon Paget, Curator of Asian Art at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida State University, on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 1 p.m. to discuss why cats are such popular subjects of Japanese art. This lecture is an exciting precursor to the upcoming VBMA exhibition Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print, which will be on view in the Museum from November 21, 2026, through February 7, 2027.

In 2024, Hello Kitty celebrated the Golden Jubilee as reigning Queen of Japanese popular culture since 1974. Since then, Japan’s reputation as a nation of cat lovers has only grown through the popularity of cat temples, cat islands, cat cafés, and innumerable feline celebrities. However, Japan’s ailurophilia has a much longer history, which is vividly depicted in centuries of Japanese art and visual culture, especially in woodblock prints. Depending on the context, they may elevate the mood, invite good fortune, prompt the viewer to meditate on a tale, or provide evidence of an unseen world of magic and supernatural happenings.

In addition to her curatorial position, Rhiannon Paget has published research books on paintings, textiles, popular visual culture, and especially woodblock prints. She has curated numerous exhibitions of art from across the Asian continent. Her most recent books are Divine Felines: The Cat in Japanese Art; Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World; and Saito Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening.

The November 7 lecture is $12 for Museum Members and $15 for nonmembers (which includes Museum admission). Space is limited; preregistration is required. Visit vbmuseum.org for more information or to register.

Mandatory caption for attached art: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1839–1892; Appearing Tiresome, Behavior of a Maiden of the Kansei Era, 1888. Woodblock print, ink and color on paper; 14 11/16 x 10 in (37.31 x 25.4 cm); Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, gifts of various donors, by exchange, and gift of Edmond Freis in memory of his parents, Rose and Leon Freis.