Artist, cartoonist and animator Rob Martin is about to unveil his latest piece of art – a tribute to Gerald the York Minster cat – valued at a cool £250,000.

Outlane-based Rob, who also famously painted Felix the Huddersfield Railway Station cat (pictured above), is excited to take the wraps off his latest portrait.

Gerald, a distinctive Bengal cat, became a tourist attraction in his own right in and around York Minster when his owner Justine Spencer moved to the city in 2017.

Sadly, Gerald died in September 2020 but now he’s been immortalised by Rob, in his own unique style.

“It was a very happy experience painting Gerald,” said Rob. “He was a Bengal cat with lots of interesting markings. I’ve painted lots of cats and have my own style.”

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Rob, who has also painted former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s cat and a cat at a Tesco store in Devon, tends to depict his feline subjects wearing clothes.

He’s not, however, revealing anything about his latest picture of Gerald and is leaving it until the official unveiling, likely to be in February.

The original plan was to display the picture in the refurbished First Class Lounge at York Railway Station but because of its value it will now go on show on the platform instead, which has 24-hour security.

Rob Martin just fell into painting cats

Rob’s Felix painting, which was valued at £75,000, depicts Felix (a female cat, of course) dressed as Charlotte Bronte while Mr Corbyn’s cat – called El Gato – wore a Che Guevara hat and 16th century-style robes.

Mango, the Tiverton Tesco cat, was resplendent in a vivid blue suit, gold waistcoat and red cravate.

“I fell into painting cats by accident and one cat led to another,” said Rob. “I never go out of my way to paint a cat, I just keep getting asked. It’s a very human thing to get obsessed with cats.

“I think I was a trendsetter. No-one was painting cats wearing clothing until I did it.

“When I painted Felix there was a lot of unwarranted criticism and people saying she looked daft in a dress but my style is larger than life and I do pictures in a way that are epic.”

The portrait of Felix had previously been on display at Huddersfield Railway Station but Rob now has it in storage.

READ MORE: How Felix the Huddersfield Station cat is helping her human