"Sleeping Cat" Line Drawing by Jerry O'Day (Geraldine Heib)

Details

Description

Ink drawing on paper
Signed lower right

Description
“Sleeping Cat” captures Jerry O’Day’s gift for reducing form to its essential … Read more Ink drawing on paper
Signed lower right

Description
“Sleeping Cat” captures Jerry O’Day’s gift for reducing form to its essential poetry. A single continuous line describes the curled figure of a resting feline, its body folded into an almost sculptural serenity. The drawing is deceptively simple—every contour is purposeful, balancing tenderness with graphic clarity. The little creature, lost in sleep, becomes a meditation on stillness and the intimate beauty of the everyday.

Context & Legacy
O’Day—born Geraldine Naomi Heib—worked in the San Francisco Bay Area alongside her spouse, sculptor Dave Lemon. Their gallery became a hub for regional modernism. Influenced by both abstraction and West Coast figurative movements, O’Day’s drawings often harmonize gesture with emotional resonance. This piece reflects her belief that line alone can reveal character.


Collector’s Note
O’Day’s ink drawings are increasingly sought after for their charm and sophistication. “Sleeping Cat” stands out for its purity of line and its gentle, contemplative mood—hallmarks of her mature style.

About the Artist
Jerry O’Day (Geraldine Heib) studied with the noted muralist Beniamino Bufano and exhibited widely throughout California. She lived and worked on a Sausalito houseboat from the 1960s until her death, creating abstract and figurative works that remain emblematic of mid-century Bay Area art. See less