Oscar WILDE – Original photograph by Napoléon Sarony. 1882.
One of the most famous portraits of Wilde in the United States.
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One of the most famous portraits of Wilde in the United States.
Sold
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 wearing a pelisse that he held dear and that his brother had to sell when he was imprisoned: "I wore it during the whole trip to America, it attended all my premieres, it knows me perfectly and I really want to see it 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.