tommy....cat?

thanks the-athenaeum.org (PD)

Boston artist Marie Danforth Page (1869-1940) was a well regarded society painter.  Fashionable as her portraits may be, they can be arresting - as is this one, "Tommy" (1913).  Danforth Page, who had no children of her own, loved to paint them and did so with all the sweetness you'd expect and that you see here.  Yet this little boy in his spotless outfit has the surprising sidekick of a huge black cat, draped over his boy's legs with a pure air of possession and a drop-dead gaze.
Here's a thoughtful article about Danforth Page and her career.