Cat lovers can celebrate the work of art Louis Wain, famous for paintings of cats, at the Museum of St Albans.

It is the 75th anniversary of the death of the Edwardian illustrator who was also a patient at Napsbury Hospital, a former psychiatric unit in St Albans.

Two of Wain’s paintings are on display at the Museum of St Albans, including ‘A Tea Party at Napsbury’. Painted in the 1930s, the picture features a group of cats having tea and biscuits in preparation for playing tennis.

As part of the commemoration events, visitors will be able to have their photograph taken in front of a large version of the painting. They will also be given the opportunity to find out more about Louis Wain’s extraordinary life and to create their own work in the painter’s distinctive style.

The Cats Tea Party will take place on Saturday, July 5 between 11am and 3pm.

Paint Like Wain will take place on Saturday, July 19 between 11am and 3.30pm.

Louis Wain: Artist and Patient will take place on Monday, July 7 to Friday, July 25. Work is now underway to raise funds to transform the grade II* listed Town Hall in St Peters Street into a new home for Museum of St Albans. The £6.75m “renaissance: St Albans” project will see the Museum of St Albans and the University of Hertfordshire gallery move from Hatfield Road to the Town Hall.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has already pledged £2.8m towards the cost of the new museum and gallery project. This includes an initial award for first phase development funding of £282,000.

St Albans City and District Council, St Albans Museums and Galleries Trust and the University of Hertfordshire are working to raise the balance.