Norman

On a blue ground, a turquoise cat is built out of church ornament, white lines that the Wellcome Collection describes as gothic tracery and crockets, the carved stone leaves that climb the edges of cathedral spires. The word "Norman", written on the sheet itself, gave the picture its title.

Wain had grown up among patterns. His father traded in textiles, and his mother, who was of French descent, made embroidery for churches. The sheet is small, about 18 centimetres high, and the Wellcome can date it only to between 1925 and 1939, which covers most of his years in hospital.