Oscar WILDE - Original photograph by Napoléon Sarony. 1882.

Oscar WILDE (1854.1900)

Original photograph by Napoléon Sarony.

Period albumen print, laminated on strong cardboard, in cabinet card format (9.50 x 17.10 cm).

New York. January 1882.

One of the most famous portraits of Wilde in the United States.

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Upon his arrival in New York, Oscar Wilde visited the studios of Napoléon Sarony, one of the most popular American photographers. The latter produced around twenty photographs of Wilde, in different poses, with different costumes, revealing all the dandyism of the young British author.

In this portrait, Wilde is dressed in a pelisse which he valued very much and which his brother had to sell when he was imprisoned: “I wore it during the entire trip to America, she attended all my premieres, she knows me perfectly and I really want to find her again” (Pléiade, pp. 94-95).

Invited to present a series of conferences on the theme of Aesthetics and Decorative Arts, Oscar Wilde arrived in the United States on January 3, 1882, for a tour initially scheduled for four months. This tour will ultimately span an entire year, over one hundred and forty conferences, taking him to Canada.