The origin portrait of Cat Lady probably might be based on Amedeo Modigliani's sketch of Ukrainian-Russian poetess, specialist in literature, and translator Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966), which was created circa in 1910–1911. The sketch was presented at Louvre in Paris, France approximately in 1917 or 1918, but in 2018 it was sold on New York City's Auction.
Pose of woman was connected with the difficult fate of the poetess. All of her three husbands were imprisoned and killed during Stalin's repressions on false charges. Her son, Lev Gumilyov, was also arrested, but released many years later. That tells why Anna fell into a state of deep depression.
A rose was a favorite symbol to Anna, and was connected with the Summer Garden at Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
Anna Akhmatova's work was also banned during the whole Soviet era until the mid-1980s, but it was different in that Akhmatova wrote the truth in her own writings about the Soviet and Russian authorities, which were against society. However, Anna Akhmatova attributed herself to the Genghisid dynasty, the Great Mongols, in particular Genghis Khan. She also had Tatar origins.
Amedeo Modigliani, famous Italian artist
A. Modigliani's portrait of Anna Akhmatova, circa 1910–1911
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko or Anna Akhmatova, famous Russian poetess
Anna Akhmatova with her son Lev Gumilyov, mid-1920s
Anna Akhmatova lying in Sphinx pose. Archive of Museum of Anna Akhmatova at Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
Statue of Anna Akhmatova at Bolshaya Ordynka Street in Moscow, Russia. This statue was also created by one of Amedeo Modigliani's sketches.
Roses at the Summer Garden, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
History of attraction's portrait[]
The portrait began as a piece of Marc Davis concept art that depicted the painting of a woman reclining on a couch turning into a complete black panther. Like the other Changing Portraits, she was originally designed to slowly transform into her monstrous form rather than simply flash.
When the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland opened, the first portrait in line in the Portrait Hallway was that of a young woman dressed in white holding a rose laying on a couch. When lightning would flash, the painting would rapidly change in sync with the lightning. The woman's upper half would change into a black panther. When the effect changed into the slow morph, the black panther transformation was kept the same. In 2005, the Portrait Corridor's effect was changed from a slow morph to a ghostly image being cast on to the painting by the outside lightning. Due to the way the effect is achieved, the original image now had to be darker and the scary image had to be lighter. The clothing on the woman was changed to black and instead of a black panther, she now changes into a snarling white tiger.
During the 2007 renovation to the Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion, the Sinister 11 was replaced with a gallery of images that changed with the lightning, similar to the Portrait Hallway at Disneyland. The Cat Lady portrait was added at this time, and like at Disneyland, she changes into a white tiger.
In the original Portrait Hallway scene at Phantom Manor, the original portrait of the woman in white is still hanging on the wall, and like her original incarnation at Disneyland, her upper half slowly transforms into a black panther. This was removed in the 2019 refurbishment of the attraction.
Other Appearances[]
2003 Film[]
In 2003 film adaptation, as Jim Evers walks down the movie version of the Portrait Hallway, he passes the portrait of a young woman on a couch that transforms into an orange tiger.
As with the other changing portraits from the film, the portrait wasn't originally featured in the film. They were added in as testing audiences voiced their disdain for the film so they shot certain scenes in-order to directly reference the ride as a means of trying to make the film more tolerable for audiences.
In the Marvel comics, the Cat Lady is a henchwoman to the Captain, emerging from her painting as a panther alongside Medusa and the Horseman to chase Danny through the halls of the Mansion, only to be turned away by Madame Leota in the Seance Circle. She can later be seen reporting to the Captain that the Horseman was decapitated by Constance and unable to rejoin the pursuit.
In the Muppet Halloween special, the role of the Cat Lady is filled by Annie Sue, who transforms into the eyepatch-wearing housecat Gaffer.
Video-Games[]
In the Disney Crossy Road app for mobile devices, the Cat Lady is a secret, unlockable character that you can play as. Just like in the ride, when lightning flashes she changes into a white tiger.
The portrait makes an appearance when Ben is pursued by the Hatbox Ghost, with her transformed state taking on a frightened expression as one of many ghosts hiding or running from the Hatbox Ghost as he roams the halls.
The Tiger Lady is one of the highlighted ghosts in the 2024 storyline "Entrusted Fate". Her character profile describes her as the spirit of an adventurous woman who died after encountered a tiger while her leg was caught in an animal trap on a jungle expedition.
Her changing portrait was added to the Tokyo Disneyland Attic for the duration of the event.
Trivia[]
The Werecat in Disney Kingdoms
In real life folklore, a WereCat is a type of monster from Indian, African and South American Mythology who is typically depicted as a witch or wizard with no other powers than the ability to transform into a large feline animal at will (such as tigers, panthers or leopards).
In the attic scene, the Reginald Caine section of Constance's collection has a tiger-pelt rug thrown over a red chaise-lounge chair. This might be simply coincidental but it most definitely channels the character.
This pelt seems to originate from the 2003 film adaptation of the Haunted Mansion, where it was seen on a table near Gracey Manor's conservatory.
